Sanctuary&Asylum[.33]
by Negative-Z
Summary: Over-ambition-marries-cliche-that-we-hold-the-sun-yet-rue-the-day.
1. Verse One is Family

Sanctuary&Asylum[.33]  
  
Forward-Forewarned:  
  
I'll explain the synopsis verse, but I ask that readers try to figure out the rest of them on their own.  
  
***  
  
Over-ambition marries cliché.  
  
That we hold the sun---yet rue the day.  
  
***  
  
Once you discard nonexistent editing and poor transference of formats the two biggest problems with fanfiction are over-ambition and cliché: ideals that are too much for the author/characters to live up to and ideas that are too overused to live down. The synopsis begins with these two themes because, through this story, I hope to expand upon what I am far from talented enough to escape.  
  
Use of the word 'marries' rather than, say, 'embraces' suggests not only unions that are overt and extensive, but also those that coexist by default or necessity. The clichés and over-ambitions of paradox, for better and worse, are all but unavoidable. But for all the luck and blood of creation I've found the most interesting connections to exist between icons without obvious inversions or reflections. Simply provided: there are many ways to examine a relationship, and many ways to create one. Simply promoted: every romantic has to preach and every cynic has to admit that insight is usually impossible without interaction.  
  
The second line speaks of the power of misused power. 'That we hold the sun---yet rue the day' is an attempt to express the significance of being gifted or fortunate, yet still haunted by past mistakes and the shadows of doubt they cast. In addition to the more directly selfish motivations I have for publishing this fanfiction, my primary goal is to examine regret and uncertainty as more threatening to life than any popular evil.  
  
---  
  
Our story takes place as a continuation of the all too short Tenchi Muyo! OAV, it may take a few chapters to develop but will not be left unfinished. Some content may push the limits of the PG-13 rating, but I'll try to address questions and grievances in the Afterward-Aftermath. Until I find a way to better translate italics and the like, keep in mind = ^stress(ed)^ / *thought.  
  
If you want some kind of hint regarding 'who Tenchi chooses'...tough. I won't even tell you ^if^ he chooses anyone at all; it waters down delicious suspense and often drowns out other important seasonings.  
  
Thank you, enjoy.  
---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person an ^extra^ review.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
Make a list of needed items and a store of potential discounts before going to market.  
Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum  
  
-Verse One-  
-Family-  
Our fortune and our life's work---our family and friends.  
  
Insignificance cannot belittle---what immortality commends.  
  
-ZJS  
The genius's emeralds gleamed intensely on her latest creation as it rotated in a steady hum of soft yellow energy. They focused back the reflection of her own face, its tension clear on the semitransparent surface separating her from the possible dangers of the procedure. Anxiety swelled as she looked over at small digital symbols simultaneously monitoring and adding urgency to the situation. Young hands lightly caressed the control buttons with the patience and grace of spider legs while she waited for the perfect moment to prevent disaster. Sultry anticipation narrowed her expression as the final moment approached. She licked her lips, ready to inhale the birth steam of accomplishment. A wicked grin split. A rigid finger pounced. Her latest invention opened up to the world with a plastic thump.  
  
"HA-HA! I got it!" Washu bellowed, holding her success to the heavens in exaggerated triumph.  
  
"For goodness sakes Miss Washu, would it not be easier to simply install a bell on the microwave that didn't annoy you so?" Aeka tilted her head in confusion and blew steam from a piece of breakfast.  
  
"Of course," Washu regained her normal controlled and knowing tone, "but then this stuff wouldn't taste as good."  
  
She cleared the one remaining digital second, slammed the little reactor door, and proceeded to enjoy the fruits of her labor with noticeably more enthusiasm than the others gathered round the family table. Tenchi, his favorites in dads, galaxy police officers, and First Princesses of Jurai were all clearly still in the early stages of consciousness, but their lethargic intake of the oatmeal spooned old gruel to a fresh orphan.  
  
"Hmm, maybe I should try doing it then," Tenchi mumbled as he stirred in a few raisins.  
  
Washu put her utensils down, crossed her arms and looked around the table with agitated lips crumpled to one side.  
  
"Now I know you all miss Sasami's cooking, but I was up way too late working on my Blue Emissions report to make everyone extravagant omelets, so suck it up...literally if you have to."  
  
Her cute curtness caused everyone to feign a little more interest in their meal. Tenchi naturally tried to cover up the monstrous thought of offense.  
  
"Oh, its not that bad Wa-^Little^ Washu, I think I just need to warm it up a little, that's all."  
  
A transparent mass of spiked cyan hair slowly became solid behind the young man of the house as Ryoko placed a hand on one shoulder and reached towards his breakfast with the other.  
  
"Don't worry, Tenchi," she whispered seductively into his ear, "I can warm ^anything^ up for ^you^."  
  
Ms. Brazen's proper temperate nemesis was suddenly wide-awake.  
  
"Ryoko! Get off of---RYOKO DON'T!" Aeka screamed as a small marble of energy on the end of a skilled finger made its way into Tenchi's oatmeal. The thick paste began to bubble with such vulgar noises. It splattered everyone at the table before charring up a foul smoke, the cloud split around Ryoko's hand.  
  
"Ryoko, next time just use the microwave." Tenchi scolded in exasperation.  
  
"Don't worry Tenchi...now we get to clean it off each other." She playfully scoped a small glob off his thigh and stuck it suggestively between her lips.  
  
"Stop that right now you...oh the smell!" Aeka whined through a pinched nose and walked towards the sliding glass door.  
  
As she attempted to replace it with the screen a single ladybug flew in inches away from her face. Aeka squealed in shock and sporadically waved and swatted air. The small insect managed to avert its course towards the table where it landed delicately on Tenchi's arm. Mihoshi's groggy eyes lit up as she removed her own hands from her nose and clapped them together with childish glee.  
  
"Ohhhh, Tenchi! Earth people say that's a sign of good fortune!"  
  
"That's ridiculous," Aeka scoffed, "how could anything be lucky about another pestering bug."  
  
"Actually, those are good for the garden," Noboyuki interjected humbly, looking over to Washu for support. The professional opinion paused to wipe a bit of oatmeal from one of the shorter strands of hair around her face. She flicked it away and nodded plainly.  
  
"Not quite as effective as a pesticide I once came up with, but they do well enough."  
  
"Well I agree with Mihoshi this time anyway...I think there's a ^very^ good chance Tenchi'll get lucky today." Ryoko's voice dripped with honey and cream as she inched her mouth closer to the young man's ear.  
  
A wave of red washed across Tenchi's fortunate cheeks. Aeka reached out and vehemently pulled Ryoko away by one of the long bangs hanging on either side of her face. Shrill screams soon filled the room as the two girls simultaneously tried to scalp each other with their bare hands. The distraction struck Mr. Lucky as a perfect moment to grab the ladybug and make a stealthy escape out the back door.  
  
He looked down at his clasped hands with a sigh and walked tiredly into the lush meadow near his home. The screams still resonating behind him made Tenchi brake into a jog with the hope of dissolving them into the tranquility of wind passing through the surrounding forest. Once his weary feet had brought him to silence and a small patch of wild flowers, he extended his hand as if admiring a new coat of nail polish. The dainty beetle tickled a small grin out of its unknown savior, but rather than fly away it continued up his index finger and down towards his thumb. Tenchi raised his arm in encouragement and tried to smile, still thinking about the mess that likely awaited him.  
  
"I know this may seem like a haven for lost travelers, but you're definitely safer out here."  
  
When it reached the tip of his thumbnail the ladybug spread its wings and flew lazily off into the warming air. He watched it and wondered how anyone could be afraid of such a frail and pretty little thing. Once the insect was out of view, he shifted his gaze to the sky and began to think about how right Washu had been about missing Sasami.  
  
The Second Princess's lively, yet innocent pink eyes had been such a warming part of the morning (whether or not they held the promise of a lovingly prepared meal). Unfortunately, Tenchi had not come to fully realize her importance to the well-being of the household until about a week after the message, the summons. The memory began with Azaka and Kamadake appearing at the dinner table 3 weeks ago; it gradually pulled Tenchi's brow together and drug his mouth into a frown.  
  
Everyone had been sitting down in eager anticipation of one of Sasami's specialties when the guardians emerged purposefully from their post for the first time in months. Their announcement of an incoming transmission from Jurai quickly gave them everyone's attention. The stern face of Aeka's father and all the stress surrounding his last visit had shot instantly into Tenchi's mind. Ever since the indirect confrontation between them he'd spent a night a week consumed with how to handle the imposing man when he finally lost his patience with regards to his daughters' 'vacation'.  
  
Aeka had looked at the guardians, then from Sasami to Tenchi with an expression of accelerating worry. Before she formally asked the cylinder sentinels to put the message through, Sasami had noticed Tenchi's tension and once again shared encouraging words about the length of time he might expect to have the two sisters as guests.  
  
*'You know Tenchi, a year here isn't long at all on Jurai cause Jurains live a whole lot longer than earth people do.'  
  
Tenchi closed his eyes in the empty field to focus on a memory now supplementing his memory.  
  
She had reassured him a number of times since the anniversary of her "arrival" at his home, a pleasant celebration till a semi-drunken Ryoko suggested that Aeka's parents 'must still be missing her by now'.  
  
From the day Washu successfully accelerated Ryo-oh's growth to make it reach maturity within a few days, Ryoko had been dropping hints that Aeka "take a little trip in it", but before the usual argument could erupt about her obligation to protect "Lord Tenchi" from harm, she had suddenly turned to him with a tender look in her eyes and asked if he wanted her to stay.  
  
The implications of him wanting ^her^ rather than her and her sister to stay were clear, yet Tenchi had characteristically taken the nonbiased approach: "I just hope it's not causing any trouble at home."  
  
Tenchi pinch his sinus back to the original memory.  
  
What Sasami forgot to mention about Jurain age was that she had not yet partaken in the ceremony performed by all Jurains on their twelfth birthday wherein she would be given water from Jurai's Great-Tree. The summons by both Funaho and Misaki made it clear that this was something already known to her and completely non-negotiable. A ship was already descending upon Tenchi's home when the message ended. Sasami had packed, reassured everyone that she would return as soon as possible, and been transported aboard in just a few hours. The whole goodbye happened so quickly that Mihoshi did not recover from the shock enough to cry till the next day. Just as the two queens were finalizing things by again thanking everyone for taking good care of their daughter, Tenchi had considered bringing up Sasami's fusion with the goddess Tsunami.  
  
Tenchi looked around at the present state of things again, still reliving Sasami's departure through the lake's reflected sunrise and the wave of wind through grass. He reminded himself that, even if the secret had made the ceremony unnecessary, it would certainly have caused more stress for her family and perhaps the entire empire.  
  
Of all the fantastic and nearly surreal things that he'd been confronted with since freeing Ryoko, the situation with Sasami and Tsunami always made Tenchi laugh (his favorite defense mechanism for maintaining what few concepts of reality he still had). He shook his head and let out a soft hissing chuckle through his teeth to dismiss the situation, but every footstep closer to another night of Washu's either bland or frightening culinary inventions brought his thoughts longingly back to Sasami and consequently to Tsunami.  
  
"The comfort of a little sister and the protection of an aunt, all in one." Tenchi spoke to himself in a nostalgic whisper, failing to find comfort in the half-irony. "But it seems like she's family to more than just Aeka and me."  
  
Although things hadn't completely fallen apart in Sasami's absence, something seemed wrong about Washu taking over her prime responsibilities of keeping the family fed and preventing Ryoko and Aeka from getting carried away with their fights. She did both the way she handled most things: like an experiment under her mechanical control. It was clear that when she got cooperation from people it was for fear of her mad-scientist glare, rather than a desire to see her girl-in-a-candy-store smile. Having fun times with the family just seemed harder with a member missing.  
  
"^The family^?" Tenchi stopped in surprise and considered his inner monologue again. After spending a little over a year with the five houseguests the title seemed to come to him without any hesitation, yet he wondered how guests could so easily seem like members of the family.  
  
This question was pushed to the back of Tenchi's mind as he looked up again through the screen door into a surprisingly clean kitchen. He slowly reentered ground zero, turning to the living room to see Mihoshi contentedly absorbed with cartoons while Ryoko and Aeka sat on either side of her, holding large ice bags onto their heads and groaning into themselves. The clock's crooked smile gave Tenchi a sagging grimace; he'd have to avoid detection by the girls again if he wanted to make it to school on time.  
  
***  
  
Washu walked casually past her specimen tanks. Her mechanical double in motel maid uniform followed with a bucket and a few dirty towels dangling over its shoulder. Lights gradually came on all around her to reveal the immense size and complexity of her lab. Mecha-Washu continued walking to the recharging chamber as its inventor sat down on the soft burgundy cushions of a levitating chair. She watched the assistant plug in a few wires with perfectly reflected disinterest before turning to the expansive screen in front of her.  
  
"I suppose it's sorta shameful to use you for such primitive purposes, but I can't stand cleaning up cheesy things." Washu's fingers wiggled in meager disgust before her holographic laptop materialized between herself and the screen, with a few simple commands four separate squares appeared, each containing detailed surveillance footage.  
  
The first scene spied on Tenchi in his school uniform sneaking out the front door, the second showed the increasingly numbed gathering in the living room, while the third gave a relaxing vision of Katshuhito sipping tea on a rock outside the shrine.  
  
Washu's eyes moved drably across each square till it stopped at the far right where a single planet far greener than earth rotated silently among the stars. She slouched a little, let her arms droop, and exhaled through pouted lips with an almost horse-like sound. The image zoomed in while she spoke to it in a distant voice.  
  
"Ya know, it's not hardly fair to have to miss you like this."  
  
***  
  
Mihoshi's simple voice was further zombiefied by half an hour of musical cartoon rodents.  
  
"Aeka, do they have this show on Jurai?"  
  
Ryo-Ohki let out a yawn from Ryoko's lap.  
  
"Don't ask me stupid questions now Mihoshi." Aeka answered in an overtly grumpy tone.  
  
"Me-yow." the cabbit sighed softly at the reminder of the absent friend who often enjoyed the show with Mihoshi. Ryoko glared over at Aeka before giving Ryo-Ohki a scratch behind the ear and leaning back silently under Washu's ice bag.  
  
***  
  
Tenchi released a barbarian grunt as he hefted the last basket of vegetables into the storage shed and massaged the flex of his muscles with a pleased grin. A small gasp froze him in another second. He jerked his head in every direction, knowing that if anyone saw his little joke he'd never hear the end of it. A sigh of relief spurred him back home where he hoped to find dinner waiting for him.  
  
As the house grew nearer Tenchi thought back to when he'd come home from school earlier that day. The deep breath he'd taken for the routine competition to greet his return had been unnecessary. Every step had injected more fear of a mounting ambush as he made his way inside and changed into his gardening clothes, yet only now did a light from the kitchen confirm that anyone was home at all. A sudden realization contracted his hand before it reached the door.  
  
*If neither of them welcomed me home from school---then they'll be twice as eager to see me when I come back from the garden.  
  
A helpless sigh puffed out of Tenchi's hanging head as he stepped towards the back porch. Before he could look up to accept his affection asphyxiation, Ryoko Teleported behind him and, grabbing onto his shoulders, teleported him into a seat at the dinner table. He felt her hands still firmly on him and was about to turn around to remind her of how unnerving that still was when he noticed everyone's attention turned towards Aeka and the two guardians levitating at attention behind her.  
  
"Ryoko. I'm sure Lord Tenchi was quite capable of taking ten more steps to the dinner table." Aeka frowned seriously.  
  
"Well I'm impatient, I still don't know why you didn't let me do it sooner...but Tenchi forgives me, don't you Tenchi?" Ryoko said softly as she slithered her hands off his shoulders, taking her seat and Tenchi's thigh as a hand-rest.  
  
"Uhhh," Fear confronted arousal spun in his mind till he could finally remember his initial question. "What's with all the urgency, and why are the guardians inside?"  
  
"Ohhhh, Sasami's coming back, I'm SO HAPPY! I can't wait till-" Mihoshi began to squeal with glee.  
  
"Be quiet Mihoshi! I haven't even opened the communications yet." Aeka snapped.  
  
Tenchi suddenly straightened up, inwardly just as anxious to hear from the little princess. But he calmed a little for fear that the news might not be a promised return to a full house.  
  
"Thanks for waiting for me guys," Tenchi said sincerely.  
  
"Of course Lord Tenchi." Aeka politely changed her tone.  
  
"Well come on Aeka, put her through." Ryoko leaned forward impatiently, the increase in pressure causing Tenchi some trouble in hiding his discomfort.  
  
Aeka gave the order to Azaka and Kamadake who obediently materialized a meter square holographic screen between them. The appearance of Sasami's bright face instantly summoned happy grins from the entire family, even a normally calm Katshuhito.  
  
"Hi everybody, I've missed you sooooooooo much!" Sasami's image cheered.  
  
Everyone returned the enthusiastic sentiment before settling back down to a silence laced with an obvious hope that Sasami indulged without hesitation.  
  
"I finally get to come back!" She shouted triumphantly.  
  
"No more chef Washu!" Ryoko raised her fist in celebration.  
  
"Hey! You try working with these medieval tools...on second thought I think I'd rather starve." Washu met Ryoko glare for glare.  
  
"That's great news Sasami, when are you getting back," Tenchi asked happily  
  
Sasami's cheer suddenly began to drain till her voice came in with slow uncertainty.  
  
"Well that's the thing, daddy has this big thing going with a bunch of other planets and, well, there wont be any ships free for another six months, maybe even a year."  
  
The crowd's spirits began to visibly sink in disappointment before Aeka perked them up.  
  
"Oh Sasami! Miss Washu found a way to fully re-grow Ryo-oh. I can come and pick you up and bring you back here."  
  
Stars exploded in Sasami's eyes as her voice regained its glee tenfold.  
  
"Yeaaaaaah, then everyone can come and bring me back!"  
  
Aeka glanced about the room quickly and began to open her mouth in affirmative, but she stopped short when she noticed the position of Ryoko's hand. She inhaled sharply through her nose, letting it out slowly as an idea calmed her fury and spread a wide grin across her face. After another breath, she looked up at her sister with disappointment and spoke with an overtly solemn tone.  
  
"I'm sorry, sister. I'm afraid Ryo-oh is back to full size but not full strength and probably couldn't support more than two or three passengers at once."  
  
"Actually Aeka-" Washu began.  
  
"Oh Little Washu, shouldn't someone be monitoring the dinner?" Exaggerated concern interrupted the expert opinion.  
  
Washu's eyes bulged as she sprinted into the kitchen with a small yelp.  
  
"Oh, okay Aeka, just so long as I don't have to wait a whole year to see you all again." Sasami answered as contentedly as possible.  
  
"Good then, if I depart tomorrow you should be back on earth within a week." Aeka confirmed with a happy smile.  
  
"I can't wait to see everyone again. See you soon Aeka, I love you all, bye!" Sasami bowed with uncommon giddiness and her image vanished. The two guardians were politely and promptly dismissed.  
  
Her innocent child's voice had been only slightly changed by a touch of maturity since she had seen them last, and the enthusiastic conversation focused on this before Mihoshi alone held the floor, babbling on about the potentials for a welcome home party. Everyone had been digging more contentedly into the overcooked and humble noodle dish than usual, yet Washu simply stirred hers thoughtfully with a slightly pouting face. She then raised her chopsticks to inquire innocently to anyone listening.  
  
"Well, since Sasami's going to be coming back so soon, I guess nobody will mind nullifying my promise not to cook with anything from my lab?"  
  
Although everyone had seemed to be ignoring Washu as she mixed question with suggestion, the entire table selectively stopped what they were doing, faced her with stern faces, and answered with a loud 'NO'.  
  
Washu was soon pouting again and mumbling something to the extent of: "You turn their skins orange just once and-"  
  
***  
  
Everyone wearily excused themselves from the table while Washu summoned her laptop and typed a few keys. Her content-looking, yet clearly mindless robotic double instantly started on the cleanup. A different kind of paring from the two identical dishwashing marvels of science emerged a few yards away on the Misaki sofa where the yin of Mihoshi's whine and the yang of Ryoko's growl held the TV remote in a delicate balance.  
  
Tenchi tried to make sense of then enjoy the poetry of it all and allowed a worried frown to invert as he remembered reading some of his grandfather's teachings about moderation and moderators. He decided to approach the problem by taking slight advantage of their eagerness to please him and feigning interest in a something on the educational channel.  
  
Once the long and windy archeological program had lulled both Mihoshi and Ryoko into near comas, Tenchi made his way to his room. Along the way he accidentally bid goodnight to Mecha-Washu, the original giggled as she led her assistant back to the lab through the closet. He admired the craftsmanship again and continued towards his room with a yawn cut short by a flash of purple hair leaping onto his path.  
  
"Oh Lord Tenchi, so sorry to startle you, I merely wanted to wish you a pleasant night's rest." Aeka said in her sweetest princess voice.  
  
"It's okay. You too." Tenchi replied, upright and modest as he almost always was when one of the girls talked to him in an affectionate tone.  
  
"Lord Tenchi?" She asked again with noticeable intent of coaxing something out of him.  
  
"Uh...yes Miss Aeka?"  
  
***  
  
The snap of the robot removing rubber gloves behind her made no dent in the bored expression on Washu's face. The lab was just as they had left it, and no more exciting now that they had returned. She looked around at the small collection of unfinished projects, her emeralds fading to dull plastic. The tools lying all about the testaments to circuitry and insults to geometry beckoned to her, yet she merely gave them a disinterested sigh.  
  
She yawned, scratched her back, and continued down a self-lighting path away from the immediate collection of machines. A depressed weariness began to weigh her face down, but after a few steps she stopped with a startled blink. Her assistant stopped only inches behind her.  
  
*^Now wait just a damn minute^!  
  
The raging voice filled Washu's consciousness like a flash flood. Ryoko instantly had the scientist's undivided attention as she only received telepathy from her daughter when she was either telling her to 'get out of her head' or when she was so upset that her thoughts and emotions actually overflowed into her mother's mind. Fearing some catastrophe, two masses of excited red hair jogged back out into the living room. When they emerged from the lab, however they saw no carnage, only the familiar scene of a nervous youth between two fuming young ladies.  
  
"It's really quite simple miss Ryoko, I asked Lord Tenchi if he'd like to come with me to bring Sasami back, since she'd be happy to see him after so long, and he said yes, end of story. Just go back to sleeping, you're good at that." Aeka's superior tone seemed intent on being particularly dismissive.  
  
"So you've finally started to get sneaky in this game, huh, Aeka?" Ryoko said in a failed attempt to cover her rage with smugness.  
  
"I am not a sneak Ryoko, that's another area you have completely covered." Aeka sneered.  
  
"Oh, right, getting Tenchi alone on a spaceship with you is purely for Sasami's sake, that's rich." Sarcasm now fit more cohesively with Ryoko's rage. "What happened to Ryo-oh only being able to carry ^two^ passengers, huh?"  
  
Tenchi's innocent gullibility finally wore off and left bright red cheeks in its absence. When Aeka noticed this, her color changed even more dramatically as anger consumed her nervousness.  
  
"H-H-How ^dare^ you suggest such a thing Ryoko! I said two ^or three^. Now look, you're embarrassing Lord Tenchi!" Aeka pointed a finger that trembled in unison with the hapless youth and kept her eyes averted from the boiling Ryoko.  
  
"AH-HA! I knew it! Well I guess I should be proud of you princess, I never knew you had it in ya to pull something like this. Too bad the jig is up...right Tenchi?" Ryoko's triumphant voice wavered a little as she stared seriously into his eyes.  
  
"Well uh, I uh," Tenchi began before he noticed Washu at the bottom of the stairs with her arms folded and a trancelike gaze focused to her lower right.  
  
"Washu!" He cried out in relief then pleaded. "You can answer this, can't you?"  
  
Ryoko awaited her reply with a sideways glance towards a princess desperately trying to stand with the same confidence. Though she heard them, Washu did not respond as she thought over the argument and the report Aeka had previously distracted her from:  
  
*Maybe Aeka's right, maybe it would be safer to test Ryo-oh with only three passengers.  
  
*What are you talking about Washu?! You're the greatest scientific genius in the universe---aren't you? So the experiments and inventions haven't come out 200% perfect lately, it doesn't mean the accelerated Ryo-oh isn't just as good if not better than the old one. Isn't it obvious that this is a plot by Aeka to get Tenchi on a private cruise?  
  
*And if it is shouldn't you stop it?  
  
*Maybe, this could make things interesting, it sure would be nice to come out of the lab to a quiet place for a while. I'm sure I could convince Ryoko that, even alone with Tenchi, Aeka is no threat. Convince Ryoko--- talk to Ryoko without Tenchi there as a distraction-  
  
After Ryoko had yelled Washu's name twice the little genius looked up at them calmly and responded with pure scientific certainty.  
  
"Aeka's right Ryoko. It would be best to take only Tenchi along, Jurain energy is kinda tricky and it's probably better to test the ship with only a few Jurains."  
  
Aeka's surprise quickly vanished into glowing righteousness and she stood as royally as she ever had. Tenchi slumped a little with a sigh of relief that the argument was settled. Ryoko stood frozen in dumbfounded fury, however, her gargoyle like pose quickly broke out of its stone skin.  
  
"^WWWHAT!^"  
  
"I'm just taking safety into consideration Ryoko. You may have forgotten that Emperor Azusa set up an artificial worm hole to Jurai space; they'll be back in a week or so, maybe sooner." Washu responded professionally to show there was no wavering of faith in her scientific opinion. No one's expression changed.  
  
"I just hope all of Jurai doesn't start bringing me their saplings." She added quickly, hoping to keep the focus on Ryo-oh rather than the prospect of Aeka and Tenchi being alone inside it.  
  
Ryoko's body seemed to be preparing the release of an earth-shattering scream when she merely levitated an inch and teleported away without looking at anyone. Three different sighs carried the remaining people to their separate quarters.  
  
***  
  
A lively breeze whistled through the tall grass and squeaked the hinges of a suspiciously open door to the Misaki's wooden storage shed. In a shadowed corner a small crunching sound mingled with an occasional decadent purr; Ryo-ohki was all too happy to exploit the stock Tenchi had forgotten to lock up.  
  
Halfway through her carrot she stopped and raised her long ear above wide eyes. She looked out the door then down at the treat indecisively, eventually tossing it on a large discard pile and bounding outside. The carrot-half slowly rolled down through the stems where it was caught and carried out into the moonlight.  
  
The wide-eyed creature hopped gingerly to the bottom of a large tree where she set her carrot down and let out a concerned meow. The weeping figure hidden in the branches, startled by the sudden noise, formed her energy sword and accidentally severed a nearby branch. Ryo-ohki squealed in fright and narrowly jumped out of harm's way.  
  
"Oh, it's you Ryo-ohki."  
  
Ryoko teleported next to the shaken cabbit, trying in vain to snort back tears. Her agonized expression gained a hint of curiosity when she noticed something beneath the smoldering stump of the fallen branch. She bent over and grimaced as she stood up again, the charred and soiled remains of a carrot dangling from her fingers.  
  
"Sorry Ryo-ohki." Some apologies can sound sincere even when hoarding all the sympathy.  
  
First letting out an annoyed meow, her ship covered it up with one full of sympathy when she noticed that the pirate's gold seemed worn and tarnished to a despairing brass. The carrot dropped. Soon after it hit the ground Ryoko's knees followed in a body-crumble of overwhelming defeat.  
  
"What am I going to do Ryo-ohki?" Ryoko asked lifelessly, starring into the limp palms crossed over her lap. Ryo-ohki walked up and gently placed a paw on her captain's knee with another sympathetic meow. "Tenchi's going off alone with Aeka," her voice began to strain again, "and there's ^nothing^ I can do to stop them."  
  
Ryo-ohki affectionately nuzzled Ryoko's leg. A smile crept up and she began to weakly pet the cabbit's head.  
  
"A whole week. If Aeka...if Tenchi-" She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. This trip might give Aeka the opportunity to make Tenchi forget the person who'd watched over him all his life, and the thought of it tore fresh tears down Ryoko's face.  
  
"W-W-What'll I do Ryo-ohki?" The question went out again with a sob. Ryo- ohki crawled into her lap for extra comfort.  
  
"At least I'll still have you, ya little furball." She chuckled weakly, holding the cabbit up in front of her and smiling as it tried to reassure her with a happier meow. Ryoko's smile drained into a thoughtful expression, her eyebrows clenching as she stared intently at her faithful ship. Ryo-ohki responded with a tweaked ear and a long confused meow.  
  
Pure glee suddenly filled Ryoko's face. She placed Ryo-ohki on the ground in front of her and leaned forward till their noses almost touched.  
  
"That's it! Ryo-ohki, you can still change into a little girl when you want to, right?!" Ryoko asked almost maniacally.  
  
Ryo-ohki meowed brightly and instantly morphed into a small cabbit-like child who barely had time to adjust to the new form before being picked up and twirled around in a fit of shared laughter. After a minute of celebration, the barely contained Ryoko put the entirely unnerved cabbit- girl down and took her cheeks into shaky but warming hands.  
  
"Ryo-ohki," she began amid almost ecstatic breaths, "if I only ask one thing of you for the rest of my days-"  
  
*** Tenchi's hand flopped down like a lazy marionette onto the screeching alarm clock. He grudgingly began to groan, stretch, and massage the remains of sleep from his body. Once oriented, he saluted the suitcases standing by his bedroom door with an accepting sigh. This trip was going to be nothing like the week he'd spent in the U.S. with his English class, but he'd packed basically the same.  
  
"Well," he thought aloud, "today's the day."  
  
The next sigh carried a heavier burden as he realized that there would be much more to worry about on this trip than the haunting stories his dad had told him about American girls. He still couldn't believe that he'd agreed to come along, being so anxious to give Sasami a warm welcome that he completely overlooked the position he'd put himself in.  
  
"This is just so Sasami has a nicer trip," Tenchi told his dressing reflection sternly.  
  
He soon deflated into a puzzled expression, easing his mind into an inner dialog to explain why he'd agreed so readily to Aeka's request.  
  
*She asked so politely and with such concern for Sasami, surely this isn't just a trick to get me alone--- please let it not be a trick.  
  
*Damn it Tenchi, you always make doubly sure there won't be any conflicts before you agree to do something alone with one of the girls.  
  
*Is there some other reason I'm going?  
  
The potentially hidden motives revealed themselves to be less than noble and Tenchi slouched on his largest suitcase, frowning to the accusations of his mind.  
  
*Is this just some excuse to get away for a while? I suppose I would like to see a little of Jurai, but do I actually ^want^ to be alone with Aeka?  
  
A vision of Ryoko's reaction to the trip shot into his mind. As bad as the fights between her and Aeka had ever been, even as they seemed to worsen in Sasami's absence, that kind of emotion hadn't flared up in Ryoko's eyes since the battle with Kagato. He had been learning fairly well how to avoid getting drawn into exhaustive and depressing inner debates, but it was still a grueling effort to keep memories of that encounter from inspiring an evaluation of everything that had happened since.  
  
Growling and shaking his head between his hands, he fought brutally to block out thoughts of the girls, their feelings, and his. He rose up in frustration and prepared to pound the wall. But fists soon surrendered to open palms that slapped down to support his weight. Head sinking down in defeat, he dropped the barriers and allowed the lecture and the debate to begin.  
  
*Who the hell am I kidding? I've been trying to convince myself that we can all just be friends for almost two years, and even if Mihoshi and Washu seemed to have taken that route, Ryoko and Aeka...  
  
Tenchi's mind was soon flooded with countless visions of the two girls trying everything in their power to gain favor over the other. Often times it seemed they only refrained from truly destroying one another for his sake. Although Washu had created a program that had little trouble repairing the damage their fights caused, they still made him cringe. Any danger to life and limb, he realized, was actually secondary to the tangible negative energy he felt them exchange. The utter hatred with which they regarded each other seemed born less of a battle of prides and more of a battle for life.  
  
*But it isn't a battle between them, it's a battle over me, I can bet that one, or even worse, ^both^ of them are really really in love with me. As nonbiased, as passive, as utterly cowardly as I try to be I-  
  
A sound of physical pain escaped, announcing the arrival of something he wished he could ask Washu to remove from his mind: the agonizing comparison of the two almost polar friends. All their strengths and shortcomings always came rushing towards him in a tidal wave. He would think of the two faces, the two overwhelmingly beautiful faces, and would fall to his knees helpless and ashamed.  
  
*Why? Why does it have to be like this? I ask myself this question every time and I never get an answer, comparing them just overwhelms me like...a wave...a Tsunami...Sasami. I can still barely bring myself to comprehend Her, a Goddess, making everyone breakfasts, calming quarrels...keeping the peace.  
  
The steadily maturing features of Tenchi's face forgot themselves and regressed to the bewildered vulnerable eyes of an adolescent near revelation. Small relief rose up in him as he considered that one burning question might be able to cancel out another.  
  
*That must be it, Tsunami, Sasami, that energy, that amazing energy I feel around her---them. It's so undeniably...good. Am I so anxious to have that presence back here, is that why I wanted to go. Do I, do I, just want to be around it again. Did I become addicted to that connection with Jurai's energy? It's almost funny, addicted to a Goddess, like those religious nuts; so caught up with being connected to pure goodness that I'd do anything to keep the high. But this is real...I hope.  
  
Tenchi forcefully composed himself again, glancing at the clock as he picked up his bags. He let out another sigh of hesitantly accepted duty, and tried to adjust his smile in the mirror one last time.  
  
*I'm getting nowhere. The main point is that trying to back out now would just make things worse, I just need to reassure Ryoko somehow. Now that I think about it, this will be a good chance for her and Washu to maybe-  
  
Tenchi stopped mid-button and frowned.  
  
*No. She wouldn't. Of course not!  
  
*But she almost never has doubts about her inventions.  
  
*No Tenchi come on, thinking of this as one of Washu's scientific schemes isn't going to help anything. You've kept things from getting too serious during the picnics and games and all the other times you were alone with one of them, you can do it this time. Besides, Aeka's so modest, so shy, so sweet...maybe it will be nice to talk to her, about Sasami, about Jurai. About everything.  
  
This last encouraging thought readjusted his smile the last twist it needed to be sincere. As he walked gingerly into the hallway he tried to maintain it by keeping his extended family in mind, telling himself to focus on consideration rather than fear.  
  
***  
  
"Oh there has to be one in here somewhere---but I shouldn't." Mihoshi spoke sheepishly from the open doorway of Nobuyuki's study. Eager blue eyes darted about the room, trying in vain to make out anything specific in the darkness.  
  
"I just need a notepad, I'm sure Tenchi's dad has one I can use, and it will just take a minute." She reassured herself and any possibly hidden authority. Her left hand grasped the doorframe while her right angled to pat along the wall for a light.  
  
"There we go," she said softly as her finger flipped the switch. A lamp in a large ceiling fan illuminated Mihoshi's face as it quickly drained of color at the sight before her.  
  
Only at the Galaxy Police's filing station had Mihoshi seen such a huge scattering of papers and books crammed into such a small room. "Oh boy," she sighed as she began her search with newly slumped shoulders. After deciding it would be better not to disturb the piece of modern junk art that was Noboyuki's desk, Mihoshi began looking up and down the towering bookcases along the walls. At last her hands came together to clap on a smile at the sight of a medium sized note pad stuck beneath a stack of rolled blue prints. Mihoshi stood on her toes and snatched her prize off the shelf then turned to hold it up triumphantly. No sooner had the neatly prepared book of blank yellow paper smiled back at her than a curious shuffling sound brought her attention back to the shelf behind her. A six- foot high quivering obelisk of paper cylinders stared down at a wide-eyed Mihoshi.  
  
Tenchi dropped his suitcases in the hall and ran towards the trademark Mihoshi scream exploding in his father's study. Once inside he quickly relaxed and sighed a small chuckle at the sight of Mihoshi sitting on the floor, knees to her chest, hands over her head, and entire body trembling beneath a small avalanche of blue prints.  
  
"I'm sorry Tenchi. I made a list of things for Sasami's welcome back party, b-b-but I lost it and I just needed a new note pad to write on and...and...and IM SO SORRY!" Mihoshi's whine quickly evolved into a wail as she caught sight of Tenchi looking down at her situation.  
  
"It's okay Mihoshi, nothing looks broken, dad needs to reorganize this place anyway," Tenchi reassured her as he began to clear away the surrounding cylinders.  
  
"Sorry Tenchi," Mihoshi repeated meekly, a muffled yawn spread weariness over her embarrassment.  
  
As Tenchi grabbed a thin plastic-wrapped tube he looked up to notice that it had been slightly wedged between Mihoshi's thighs. He slowly looked up and wondered if his mortified blush compared with the detective's.  
  
"Hey you guys, where is everybody," Nobuyuki poked his sleepy head in and instantly joined the blush contest at the sight of his son getting kinky with the Shima bank project. They both shot up at the sight of him only to worsen their appearance as the tube stayed connected between them. His son noticed before the detective and quickly and carefully removed the roll to toss it back on the pile.  
  
"Uh, sorry dad I was just trying to help Mihoshi find a note pad and it looks like the one we found was all that was holding these things up," Tenchi spoke quickly with touches of nervous laughter.  
  
"Sure Tenchi..."Nobuyuki said with a sleepy mixture of amusement and discomfort.  
  
"There was a note on the kitchen counter that said Washu and Aeka would be out by the dock," Mihoshi quickly changed the subject as if she had already forgotten the whole situation.  
  
As the three of them ate a quick breakfast Tenchi let Mihoshi's planning of Sasami's party take a back seat to his growing concern for the absent Ryoko. Reminding himself that she was often late for breakfast didn't help for he realized that he still had no idea of how to deal with her when the time came to leave. Nobuyuki and Mihoshi were still too caught up in what had moved from exhaustion-accelerated talk of Sasami's party to a groggy tale of Nobuyuki's "celebrations of college youth" to notice Tenchi's paranoid manner.  
  
With each step towards the lake, Tenchi looked for Ryoko in a different direction. Aeka and Washu were already waiting at the end of the dock, Aeka waved warmly at him and Tenchi tried to make up for his occupied arms with a large smile. Everyone exchanged a collective good-morning as they came within earshot. Tenchi's face warmed despite the early chill as his eyes fell upon the elegant robe Aeka was wearing. He'd seen her wear it on a few special occasions, but it still struck him with awe. It was as if the tailor had spent weeks just looking at her to make an outfit with such a regal yet peaceful design. As Tenchi came to the first weathered board on the dock he stopped to smile even more brightly at the image of the princess waiting patiently in the first timid rays of the sun. The stillness of the air took nothing from the flow of Aeka's garment; its beauty billowed with the mere sound of her soft and dignified voice.  
  
"Did you have a pleasant rest Lord Tenchi?"  
  
Tenchi's ears were put on hiatus as the whole of his perception dedicated itself to a proper scan of Aeka's outfit. The soft magenta of the robe's body rose to a standing ovation at the pink fireworks in the princess's eyes. Conversely, the turquoise trim and ties bowed gracefully to the violet waterfall of her hair. Tenchi saw no audience, only a ridiculously beautiful princess, and he heard no question till she repeated it in a louder tone. He blinked hard.  
  
"Oh-um, yes, thank you."  
  
Tenchi tried to scratch the blush away via the back of his neck while Aeka tried to hide hers behind a robe-covered hand.  
  
"Took you guys long enough, we could have and should have been off 30.54 seconds ago," Washu scolded Tenchi as she walked towards them with her eyes still focused on her laptop.  
  
"Sooooreeeeeyyyyahhhh!" Mihoshi yawned loudly.  
  
"Now, are you sure no one comes by the shrine this early?" Washu asked Nobuyuki as if he were a simpleton.  
  
"Noohpe juhst daahd." Nobuyuki yawned his reply with little more dignity.  
  
"Okay then," Washu held up a finger and dramatically let it fall on a single key, calling out in childish glory. "Behold my genius yet again!"  
  
Ryo-oh emerged from a storage dimension a few feet above and behind Aeka, who turned and held her hands together in utter delight. Everyone stood with paralyzed gapes till Washu turned to glare at a yawning Nobuyuki.  
  
"Oh...uh...it's fantastic Little Washu, you've really outdone yourself." The nervous architect drew back slowly, then relaxed as she turned back to her laptop.  
  
The creak of Tenchi's foot on the first board introduced the hum of Ryoko's teleportation. Her smiling face came into place an inch away from his and he stumbled back with little grace. His brows then twisted in confusion as she bent down and gently took the bags.  
  
"Here Tenchi, let me help you with those," Ryoko offered in a friendly tone which so surprised him, as he'd been preparing to need someone to pry her away, that the bags slipped easily out of his hands. She smiled at him sweetly, turned and began to slowly float towards the ship.  
  
*What in the world is going on here? Is she actually ^helping^ me leave? Why would---she---her---  
  
Tenchi's thoughts sputtered and stopped short of another inner debate when his eyes moved up from his luggage to the pirate between them, to the back of her tight red shirt, to the black ankle length skirt, to something that sat on all inquires to Ryoko's strange behavior.  
  
He had known for a while that her body went beyond merely attractive, but that simple skirt amplified the shape of her rear end so well that he inhaled deeply and spread each finger out in rising tension. With base and classic visions in mind, he rubbed his thumbs against his forefingers and suddenly knew instinctively how perfect something could feel.  
  
"I did a good job, don't you think, Tenchi?" Washu asked smugly, appearing at his side from nowhere.  
  
Tenchi blinked hard and instantly turned a sharp red. He looked down at the little genius and tried to defend himself.  
  
"I...uh-" His voice shook like a child with a hand caught in daddy's secret drawer.  
  
"Do you have any idea how much care I put into making sure the shape would come out right?" She asked gruffly, her focus still on the holographic laptop.  
  
"What...er...I don't-" He tried pathetically to replace lust with stupidity.  
  
"But the ride should be smooth." She said looked up at him with a coy smile. Tenchi merely stared at her with wide eyes and a prayer against nosebleeds.  
  
"Maybe if I try a few more saplings I might even be able to do the same for Funaho."  
  
Realization hit Tenchi like a blessed brick as he looked from Ryoko up to the accelerated growth version of Ryo-oh. He hung his head with an exhale of relief and felt his forehead with the back of his hand. Despite his clumsiness so far, Tenchi was able to wipe the sweat away without seeming too obvious.  
  
"You did a great job little Washu." Tenchi complimented her with short breath.  
  
"I did."  
  
Washu answered as if talking to herself and began walking back up the dock. After a few steps she looked back sharply with a sly smile that returned a dreadful uncertainty.  
  
"Didn't I?"  
  
Ryoko stopped a foot in front of Aeka's dumbfounded face and remained hovering with Tenchi's bags still in her hands. After visibly trying to find a sinister motive to her rival's helpfulness, Aeka spoke in a quiet yet expressly condescending and accusing tone.  
  
"You know Ryoko, disposing of Lord Tenchi's luggage wont prevent him from leaving."  
  
The brows drew together angrily on Ryoko's previously happy face, but a long nasal inhale seemed to hold back a surge of rage. As if struck by inspiration, she smiled deviously for a moment and put on an air of loud cartoon-like sweetness.  
  
"Why thank you Aeka, they ^were^ getting kinda heavy."  
  
Tenchi and Washu both looked confused as they approached the strangely civil rivals. Aeka's confusion and anger turned to pained shock as she instinctively grabbed for the larger suitcase tossed at her midsection. The weight of it pulled her over, and as she struggled to regain her posture and dignity Ryoko took the opportunity to address Tenchi.  
  
"Hey Tenchi," she began in the cooing tone she always used when working to ask for something without literally squeezing it out of him.  
  
"^Uh oh^," Tenchi whispered to himself as he became certain that the moment of truth was unfolding. He gulped as Ryoko sensually reached behind her neck with both hands, thoughts of how she was planning to say goodbye, or worse: how she was scheming to keep him there, began to rise ominously. When her hand removed a groggy Ryo-ohki Tenchi instantly went from relief to puzzlement.  
  
"Tenchi, Sasami and Ryo-ohki are such good friends that---well I was just thinking of how happy they'd be to see each other," Ryoko began timidly, looking from Tenchi down to the carefully held and stroked cabbit.  
  
"She doesn't take up air or anything, and using Ryo-oh's food replicater to make a few extra carrots shouldn't be too much of a drain." At the sound of the blessed word the cabbit's ears perked up, and she let out a hungry meow. "And so I was just wondering if you'd like to take Ryo-ohki with you to see Sasami." Ryoko looked at Tenchi with a shy yet sincere expression. His smile spread quickly at the singular and profound warmth he felt whenever the ex-pirate tried to do something thoughtful, however shaky she may still be at it. The sound of jubilance when Sasami and Ryo-ohki reunited was something he suddenly knew he had to hear sooner than later.  
  
Tenchi quickly glanced over at Washu for confirmation. The little scientist had a focused yet amused gaze fixed on Ryoko but turned it towards him seconds before he could ask.  
  
"She shouldn't cause a problem, probably a good idea to have a back-up ship around."  
  
Ryo-ohki meowed affectionately as she was handed over to Tenchi, who petted her head for a moment before looking up to address a stone-faced Aeka.  
  
"Isn't that thoughtful Aeka," Tenchi asked cheerfully in another attempt to make the two rivals see good in each other.  
  
Aeka looked quickly over at Tenchi and forced a smile. He looked past her to get another eyeful of Ryo-oh while the princess's eyes narrowed into cold pits aimed to consume an all but beaming Ryoko.  
  
"Yes Tenchi, very thoughtful," Aeka said in a deadpan voice that barely masked her intense frustration. "Azaka! Kamadake!" the guardians flew instantly to her sides at the particularly forceful summons. "Are you ready Lord Tenchi," Aeka asked in once more drastically softened voice.  
  
Ryoko smiled dreamily at Tenchi as she handed him his bag. After Tenchi's arm had adjusted to the weight of the bag his torso suddenly had to adjust to the weight of Ryoko. But as he stood up straight in now almost reflexive nervousness he noticed she was not pouncing on him, but was instead wrapping her arms about him with slow and gentle pressure.  
  
"Please hurry back my Tenchi."  
  
Her delicate coo did not make him blush, sweat, or even tense up. Tenchi's mind went completely blank and he stood there, returning the hug with flaccid hands. It was too numb a feeling to compare to drowning but as he heard Aeka inhale deeply to begin her standard complaint he almost gasped himself. As if actually wanting to avoid a fight, Ryoko withdrew hesitantly and looked down at Tenchi's left foot. She smiled a secret smile at Ryo-ohki who meowed happily, hopped down, and morphed into her toddler form. The little cabbit-girl hugged Tenchi's leg and startled a smile from him.  
  
Aeka glared at the little humanoid meowing happily as Tenchi patted her head. The princess then raised her eyes menacingly at Ryoko who returned the look eye for eye.  
  
"Thank you again Miss Washu, Sasami and I are greatly in your debt." Aeka spoke formally, though only facing the appropriate party halfway through. She gave the order to Ryo-oh with swift turn. Tenchi, Ryo-ohki, Aeka, and her guardians all faded away in a faint blue light emitting from the tree-ship's bow. Washu began checking some data again, smiling with satisfaction as she spoke into her laptop.  
  
"Okay princess, get going before the earth military shows up," Washu ordered them sarcastically.  
  
Ryo-oh remained motionless for a moment before an imposing hum of energy lifted them swiftly and gracefully into the sky. Washu watched the ship ascend till it became a sparkle of light speeding off into space. She exhaled gratitude that the event had gone through relatively without problems, dissipated her laptop, and looked over at her daughter with an anxious smile. Ryoko had her arms somewhat crossed, somewhat hugging herself, and was still starring upward. The gloss over her eyes seemed to be collecting moisture while her lashes met, as if in a ceremony to accept that she had truly made it through the event.  
  
"Well my little Ryoko, I never intended for Ryo-ohki to be used as a chaperone, but I must admit that was pretty-" Washu began in her teasing voice.  
  
"Shut up Washu! Just ^shut^ ^up^! I actually thought you were on my side, that you were getting Ryo-oh flying again so that Aeka could get back to her planet where she belongs and leave Tenchi and me alone, but ^no^!" Ryoko cut her mother off with a rusted razor tongue.  
  
"Hey now, just a minute," Washu began in offense before she was interrupted again by the increasing burn in Ryoko's face and voice.  
  
"Do you ^want^ Tenchi to marry Aeka? Is that it? You want better royal connections or something? You could have let me go along, could have let ^anyone^ go along, but instead you sent the two of them off alone into the depths of space and the mercy of Jurai!"  
  
Ryoko hardly parted her barred teeth.  
  
"Why not tell Aeka to go by her damn self! WHY!? I'm already going nuts here, wondering what she's doing to him." Her lecture festered as she moved threateningly closer with each word.  
  
"I just thought that-" Washu's straight face began to sag with disappointment.  
  
"Thought that what!? That I'd like to hang around with Mihoshi and Tenchi's dad some more, or that I'd like to have more time to let you hook me up to some insane machine!" Ryoko's anger had leveled off, but the sneer that replaced it carried even more venom.  
  
"Or do you just want some more mother-daughter bonding time?" Genius's only child spoke with all the cruelty of a mocking bully. "That's just ^hilarious^, Washu, if you want someone to talk to why don't you go build something with ears!"  
  
Ryoko looked down, waiting for Washu to leave. When she remained still, looking up at her daughter with steadily hardening eyes, the former weapon huffed and began to fly a quick withdraw up the dock.  
  
*Ryoko.  
  
Washu spelled out mental urgency. Her daughter stopped a few feet from the shore and remained motionless a few seconds from a minute.  
  
*Don't talk to me Washu, not this way or any other way.  
  
Both hands stretched out and balled up. Tension shook from the whites of her knuckles to the tips of her hair, cutting the mental airs out of Washu's retort.  
  
*Go stay in your damn lab where you belong you---you little ^freak^!  
  
Telepathy came through loud and clear a moment before Ryoko went from opaque to clear to gone. Washu stood there looking as lifeless as a machine for about ten seconds before beginning a casual walk back up the dock with head even and eyes low. Once on land again she looked up and noticed Nobuyuki and Mihoshi leaning against each other and working together to saw a rather large log.  
  
She breathed in, ready to wake them with a yell, but exhaled apathy before bringing up her laptop and opening a passage back to her lab. The small sucking zap the portal made as it closed briefly woke Nobuyuki who sleepily wished Tenchi a pleasant trip.  
  
***  
  
Washu walked up to the huge tank of masses and followed their carefree movement less like a child in a zoo, hardly like a scientist in a lab, and exactly like a lonely old woman in a park full families. Her hands held each other lifelessly behind her back for the first few minutes before her face crinkled in anger and struck out at the reinforced poly- plastic with a tight fist. She leaned forward slowly, supporting her weight on the smooth surface with a thump and a cold pressure against her forehead. 


	2. Verse Two is Friends Part 1&2&3

---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person an ^extra^ review.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
Be diplomatic when serving as a diplomat.  
^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^  
  
-Verse Two-  
-Friends (Part 1)-  
Maybe this-cheap setup---has a let-down cry.  
  
But these-won't letup---till com-plete sets buy.  
  
But that-new getup---is a sty-lish lie.  
  
Maybe those-small grow-ups---now all/I'll have-to try.  
  
-ZJS  
Almost almost-grown-up, Sasami brushed with a grin for the smooth overkill of each knot at the end of her pigtails. At every other stroke she stole a glance from her reflection to an official-looking document stuck in the corner of a royalty vanity mirror. She closed her eyes and smiled luxuriously as her free hand continued to chase bristles through the small sea of silk threads.  
  
Satisfied that the new beauty kit still looked nearly fresh and unused, The Second Princess of Jurai stood up and snatched the real-important-looking- paper smartly from its reflection's kiss. Her bright pink eyes twinkled as she read a specific section twice, then again, each time widening the smile across her face. One more silent glance-over and the youngest highness hugged the paper to her chest like a cherished childhood toy then looked up at the ceiling. Paper continued to crinkle as she closed her eyes, only a small amount of concentration watered down her glee.  
  
"It is hereby confirmed that princesses Aeka and Sasami will both be residing on a class 21 yet untitled planet. They will remain for however long it takes them to thoroughly study the primitive sciences and cultures found there. By living in primitive conditions amongst the natives they will be able to return to Jurai better equipped to perform their royal duties."  
  
Sasami recited the decree in an excessively masculine and authoritative voice. Accuracy checked; she crushed the paper again, shaking her smile even wider. An inevitable giggle rolled her priceless ticket into a disposable telescope and planted it in the open pocket on the larger of two suitcases. Check, check. Check-check. The show of shaking her head to mentally catalog each bag ended when she turned to behold her rather plain- faced audience.  
  
"What can I do with myself?" Sasami said through lips so focused that they were nearly pouting, trying different angles and halfhearted hair pulls  
  
"I don't really look that much different---I guess I'm a little taller."  
  
"I don't even feel that different really," she continued softly, running her hands lightly over up her stomach, stopping at her chest.  
  
The still-a-girl looked down and pulled at the dress top with a hooked index finger. She let down a barely formed sigh to match and spoke in an impatient whisper, "^Come on. What are you waiting for^?"  
  
The alerting hinges of the door made Sasami put her hands down to her sides faster than a dueling gunslinger. Only the royal family had the ability to enter each other's chambers without knocking first, and Sasami quickly put on her nearly overstretched affection face in preparation for more of her mother's intense goodbye hugs. She had just begun to squeak out a "mommy" when she turned to see Funaho walking towards her.  
  
Sasami's surprise was quickly replaced by a warm smile and a proper greeting for the First Queen of Jurai.  
  
"Hello Sasami, have you packed already?" Funaho asked in her usual tender yet composed voice.  
  
"Well yes, but I'll probably change my mind on what to bring a few times before Aeka gets here anyway. I'm still so excited." Sasami said brightly.  
  
"Yes, many people are quite interested in Aeka's return." The queen spoke to Sasami and herself at once.  
  
"Yeah, all the generals really want to see the re-grown Ryo-Oh don't they," Sasami said a little awkwardly, trying to think of a way to avoid the controversy of the situation.  
  
"Yes, they certainly do. Your father and mother want to see Aeka most of all, and so do I of course," Funaho smiled at Sasami who returned it nervously as she was reminded of Funaho's uncanny ability to, as the saying went, 'give shade without casting a shadow'. Sasami could only think of one way to keep her return to Earth as pleasant an experience as possible.  
  
"I-I can't thank you and mommy enough for convincing daddy to let me go--- and to let us stay," the young princess said sheepishly.  
  
Funaho's smile shrank slightly as she took a long blink and sat down on the bed. Sasami noticed her motion and sat down at the same time. Both of them looked at their laps. Funaho raised her head to look out the window and spoke frankly.  
  
"It certainly wasn't easy Sasami. We all want you and your sister to stay, but you both seem quite attached to this planet---and to Yosho's grandson." Sasami blushed slightly and opened her mouth to speak but stopped as Funaho continued.  
  
"The children of many nobles spend long periods of time on other worlds to become more cultured, but it ^is^ usually a cover for something else. Your father's only solace is the belief that this is only an extended vacation...and an infatuation that you will both soon grow tired of."  
  
Funaho's voice had grown harder but not yet cold, taking on the urgent tone singular to a parent speaking to their child like an adult for the first time. Sasami tried not to sigh or look defensive; she had told herself that the only way to get through this would be to act grownup, to behave like a princess who wants to make decisions rather than a child who wants their way.  
  
"What do you think?" Sasami tried to imitate her stepmother's formality and hoped that asking her a question directly rather than asking something of her ^auntie^ would make a good impression. Funaho looked straight into Sasami's eyes, regained her tender smile, and returned some ease to the conversation. When she spoke it was as a woman speaking to a dear friend.  
  
"You have taken the water of life now Sasami, thus you are rapidly leaving childhood behind. I've never doubted your intelligence or your caring nature, and I chose to trust that this is what is best for you and the home you've grown into on Earth."  
  
Sasami's straightened and welled up; at last one of her three parents seemed to truly acknowledge how she felt about the Misaki home and the people in it. She contemplated waiting to see if Funaho was done speaking before embracing her, but couldn't contain herself.  
  
"Oh thank you Auntie Funaho! Thank you sooooo much!" Royal and excessive gratitude was barely muffled under a tight hug.  
  
The First Queen retuned the affection graciously, stroking Sasami's head down to the base of her neck for all the chances she'd never had to do so. After at least a minute, the moment ended with another question pulling out troubled eyes and a timid voice.  
  
"What about---what about Mommy?"  
  
"Your mother wants to do what ever it takes to make you two happy, and although she wants to trust you as well, I think she also hopes that this is a phase." Funaho answered without hesitation, clearly anticipating the question. Sasami's face began to lose some of its light before Funaho put a reassuring hand across her shoulder.  
  
"The hardest part of parenting is knowing when to grant your child's wishes. It pains all three of us to see you two leave again, but the hope that Aeka will return betrothed to someone of royal blood comforts us. Well, your mother and I anyway." The tenderness in Funaho's voice began to take on slightly more weight.  
  
"But why doesn't daddy-" Sasami began.  
  
"The whole situation with Yosho---and with you girls, is truly more overwhelming to him than he cares to admit. He has chosen to accept our council for now, but the pain of reuniting with one's children only to say goodbye to them again is difficult to deal with even for an emperor."  
  
Funaho almost turned solemn after almost hurrying her words after the mention of her son's name, though she never showed the slightest will to inspire guilt. All the same, Sasami searched in long moments of silence for a way to lift the spirits in the room again. But instead of comfort, a question raced from Sasami's mind out her mouth that she instantly wished she'd reconsidered.  
  
"Will Aeka be able to read any letters from the people?"  
  
Funaho's face froze for a perfect imitation of a post-emotion icon, keeping the pose even with her eyes shut for a question she'd not anticipated.  
  
"No, Sasami. She knows these are dangerous times, just like you should."  
  
A quick apology never made it; a bubble of royal blood took its right to be informed.  
  
"Are we only aloud to go to earth because it's a safe place to hide?"  
  
Funaho's eyes were hurt more than any statue could convey, and, Sasami thought, with more pain than her question should have carried.  
  
"^This^ is the safest place you could be, Sasami. You'll understand soon enough why Jurai must--- watch its words sometimes, but never, never believe that we'd willingly hide our children."  
  
The growing lump in Sasami's throat clenched and vanished in surprise; the First Queen literally reabsorbed an emerging tear back into her eye. Search and strain as she did for a fitting apology, all that emerged was another question. It changed the subject back with the kind of childish curiosity many people try to grow out of, but it hardly changed Funaho's face.  
  
"Did you or mommy ever want to have more children after---after Aeka and I left to search for Yosho?"  
  
Funaho breathed in deeply, closed her eyes, and shared a secret that was only unspoken and only important to herself.  
  
"It is not a queen's place to ask children of her husband---but, although it might seem selfish, your mother and I both want to have more children with all of our hearts."  
  
Sasami eyes then brightened with a slightly mischievous gleam, at last believing she'd found a way to mend both their spirits.  
  
"Couldn't you, well---^surprise him^?" Sasami suggested playfully though with an obvious touch of genuine hope.  
  
Funaho's surprise shook the weight from her face and she affectionately brushed back a lock of hair from the princess's ear.  
  
"You are definitely your mother's daughter," she began lightly, "but I'm afraid it's just not an option. Hopefully someday your father will be ready again."  
  
The pair adjusted their weight a little, finally smiling at each other in the long awaited glow of an important conversation at last ending well. They both rose and embraced again.  
  
"I know things have been very busy lately, but I'll try my best to spend some time with you before Aeka arrives." Funaho promised into Sasami's hair.  
  
"I'd like that." Sasami answered eagerly.  
  
At the eager answer, Funaho made her way back to the door, letting their hair separate at its own leisure. Sasami inhaled deeply through her nose and made a sound of curiosity.  
  
"What is it Sasami?" Funaho looked over her shoulder after the second step.  
  
"It's funny, I can smell mommy's favorite perfume on you."  
  
Eyes that had remained relatively composed even though obvious pain widened dynamically and quickly darted about the room.  
  
"Well---your mother and I share---women's things all the time," Funaho regained her composure well with a quick swallow for a less than entirely certain choice of words. A flash of recollection seemed to replace it though. As she began walking out the door again, she paused and addressed Sasami without turning to face her.  
  
"Oh, and Sasami."  
  
"Yes, Auntie Funaho?" Sasami answered as innocently as ever.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll be bursting out of your clothes in no time at all." A knowing tease returned every thread of previous composure with interest.  
  
The First Queen of Jurai smiled at the sound of a tiny gasp closing the door between them.  
  
***  
  
When Tenchi entered Sasami's room he half expected to see her waiting to greet him or maybe doing whatever it was little Jurain girls did to amuse themselves. But the only other quarters aboard Ryo-oh contained nothing to suggest anyone would be hosting any tea parties or doll fashion shows. He shook the embarrassing forgetfulness from his head and entered the regal yet vacant room with renewed awe.  
  
The fully re-grown space tree had been a continual source of wonder from the moment he'd been recovered from the disorientation of having his molecules drawn into it. He'd quickly, though not without effort, forgotten his first 'visit' aboard Ryo-oh in favor of a chance to better appreciate Jurai technology. Although Aeka had told him that this regeneration was actually "economized" compared to the original, he'd eventually found himself walking through a haze not unlike the one at his first amusement park. There had seemed like no better time than the present to start in on all the questions he had about her ship, her planet, her culture, yet Aeka had asked to show him something first. The plastic- defying contours of Sasami's room eventually became a dull background to the memory of recent events.  
  
She'd stepped out of her formal position beneath the bow of Ryo-oh and beckoned to him with affectionate eyes, hardly needing to ask that he follow her to a far side of the bridge. Patience then grew thin while he waited, delicate fingers tracing the rounded boxes and pointed lights of a control panel growing from the wall. The very bark of the tree itself eventually spread away from where her hand had been like melting cotton candy. A window the size of a school projection screen presented a vision of such brilliance that it had literally made him feel like slouching back into a chair. Of all the times he'd been able to catch an inspiring picture of the sun, none could have compared to what Aeka paused her ship to gaze upon.  
  
The curve of half the earth, slowly coming into position under the majesty of the sun struck him and melted him. Every last photo buff and poster poser would have paper-cut a wrist to capture this glaze of pure energy spreading across the planet. Both he and Aeka took a deep breath together, witness to the first formation of life on a dead world, or the first steps of their child.  
  
"As many times as I've seen a sunrise like this it still captivates me. I thought you might like to see it too Lord Tenchi." Aeka had spoken softly and taken a small sidestep closer to him.  
  
"Yeah..." He answered in whispered awe, having been almost too absorbed to notice her motion.  
  
Tenchi picked up a happy picture of himself next to Aeka and her sister, lightly tracing his fingers over the beauty of the older princess's face with the ultimate sunrise still fresh in his mind. At that inspiring moment he'd felt a twinge, then a burn of impulse to put an arm around the princess to thank her for sharing it with him. Still digging into the photograph's eyes, he wondered why he had stopped; it was as if an overwhelming argument against the idea had already been prepared to stop him. The screams in his arm were muffled behind a wall again and again but were no less shrill.  
  
Her family relationship to him was always mindfully ready, however, as with every time before, he could find no real emotion even suggesting that romantic thoughts of the princess were wrong (save for the ones that came whenever he had romantic thoughts of any kind).  
  
Tenchi's smile reflected on the picture as his imagination conjured up a beautiful image of a wedding elaborate enough to resemble a circus parade. Aeka would be standing there next to him, bathed in regal layers of white silk and a rain of flower pedals, as planetfuls of adoring people looked up to them as the new lords the most powerful empire in the galaxy. The thought of dancing, music, and those beautiful eyes watching over him and their family made him sigh dreamily. But his mind inevitably began to wonder to other parts of the princess; he snapped himself out of the fantasy and carefully put the picture down.  
  
Heirloom-quality bags landed softly on the bed one after the other, but they still looked almost insulting as they sank into a mattress fit for royalty, Tenchi unpacked quickly as he admired how a tree could grow a bed box from an elaborate series of intertwined wingspan clouds. An unfamiliar and unmistakable sense of pride for his Jurain ancestry moved Tenchi back and forth, opening dresser drawers that felt like heavy and masterful origami. Royal faces smiled at him from almost the exact spot they'd been placed after Aeka had cut them from a photo of everyone at the Misaki home.  
  
***  
  
Throughout her entire scientific career no one had ever doubted Washu's ability and not eaten humble pie soon afterward, one way or another. Jealousy-born and bearing suspicion frequently caused formality- sworn and swearing confrontation; just how brilliant was she, how could she be? Those who could not accept that there were absolutely no wooden nickels in her fountain of scientific knowledge never published their wish- lists for very long before disillusionment and disinterest and dismissal. On uninspired days like this, however, she almost missed the presence of a skeptic tank to clean out.  
  
Her current lull in enthusiasm had been thickening since Sasami's departure, but she continued to assure herself that it was simply a small side effect of genius. A little boredom once in a while was inevitable for someone so brilliant, her mind mumbled it every step up from the lab, she chewed it into her tongue as she entered the kitchen, but the rare look of creative defeat remained. She beat a shrill tune into her bowl as she gruffly stirred in some noodles, again cursing herself for believing a little art might get her back in the mood for science.  
  
Forget her scientific career, never in her life could she remember a time when she'd picked up a brush or pen and created a work of art that fitted anyone older than her currently projected age. Yesterday's paintings had turned to lifeless messes in a matter of minutes as she quickly grew frustrated with the environments and characters her imagination smeared out. All her haiku similarly turned into paper ball sculptures. The only mood her poetry could create was pitiful nausea, even in free form.  
  
With Noboyuki at work, Mihoshi off on one of her routine patrols appropriately nicknamed "naps", and Ryoko avoiding her to no end, she was left alone to sulk in her lunch. But with the slurp-pop of an artificial noodle and the snap-fizz of an imagined light bulb Washu's dull emeralds shined from curious to devious, dragging the rest of her slowly up to Tenchi's room.  
  
Watching her steps up the stairs through the semi-transparent laptop, Washu searched for the energy signature of a very special object. The data placed the treasure only a few meters away, but she smiled for more than that after tactfully knocking, then knocking the ajar open, despite how little she usually liked surprises.  
  
Ryoko was sitting on the bed with her knees pulled in and Tenchi's favorite jacket held against her muzzle in tightly clenched hands. The tail of her kimono was lying limp over the crumpled sheets and her eyes starred ahead at less than nothing. Washu took a quiet step inside, balancing her toe on the floor when Ryoko moved. The mourning figure hardly woke to reality, but looked over with cold glass eyes to make it clear that she knew her mother was there.  
  
Her expression never tried to confuse withdrawal for relaxation, too placid, not at all tranquil. Yet, there was a sense of fragility that Washu needed no psychic link to detect. The wrong gesture, perhaps any gesture, could snap her daughter in either direction. They continued to face each other, one barely holding back, and the other barely holding on. Before Washu could think of some way to better tiptoe around the unstable situation, Ryoko merely turned her head forward again and gathered a little more of the jacket into her hands.  
  
A sigh readied itself for her daughter's decision to keep ignoring her, but Washu kept silent and focused down at the screen as she walked calmly over to Tenchi's desk. The moment between looking and invading privacy met a its inevitable interval.  
  
"Good luck trying to get the gems out of that sword." Ryoko said in a voice barely alive enough to suggest that she'd tried to do so already. Washu glanced over in time to see her daughter teleport away, taking the jacket along.  
  
She opened one of the drawers with a curious frown towards the empty dent on the bed; Ryoko had predicted her actions, but it certainly wasn't by telepathy and couldn't have been clever insight. One more question she didn't feel like disassembling, she'd spoken and that was more than she'd done in a while and would have to do for now.  
  
The object in question was wrapped carefully in a dark brown cloth and tied with a bit of shoestring. While she tried to open the package without removing it from the drawer, images of Ryoko kept distracting her. She inwardly lectured herself as she opened a small subspace portal with a robotic arm at the other end.  
  
*You could have said something, could have said anything. Right now is the perfect time, but you keep making excuses. Is studying the sword and the gems more important than at least ^trying^ to comfort her? If they come back and Aeka's closer to him, and just keep telling yourself that this time alone won't seal the deal, she will very likely never speak to you again.  
  
Washu starred down at the sword then visually traced its contours, all the while seeing only her daughter. Three of her best robotic arms each tried and fried to remove the gems, till finally somebody came to mind as a potential aid her immediate problem as well as the one distracting her from it.  
  
***  
  
Tenchi moved a game piece forward and promptly retracted it with an embarrassed sigh. Every time he played the Jurain equivalent of chess he eventually ended up confusing the movements of a piece with the ones he'd been playing with since he was six. Aeka did the same when he first taught her to play "earth chess" but had adapted more quickly, of course the delicate giggle she used whenever he made the mistake usually overshadowed any embarrassment. He smiled sarcastically to himself, figuring a mistake like that to throw off her confidence might be the only thing to save him. He eventually scanned the rest of the board with a more focused expression, but his thoughts were already drifting to how well the trip had gone thus far.  
  
Azaka and Kamadake served gourmet Jurian meals, right on time and fresh from the food replicater. They were no Sasami-specialties but certainly put any previous vacation food to shame, and they traveled rather well for the picnics they'd had in the garden around Aeka's quarters, much easier to enjoy when he wasn't an escaped prisoner sneaking through them. Talk about the differences and similarities between Earth and Jurai continued to provide good conversation whenever they tried to exchange some less complicated board games.  
  
Ryo-ohki was still the life of the party though; the tricks she was learning to do with her humanoid body were becoming more cleverly coordinated than most children her size. Although it had startled him at first, Ryo-ohki sleeping on his bed in cabbit form comforted him as much as an old cat had when he used to stay over at his aunt's house. Tenchi feel asleep the first night hopping that the near incident in the sunrise would be the only moment of uneasiness, naturally one more managed to present itself.  
  
When they eventually got tired with board games Aeka decided to show him a catalog of Jurai fashions on the main viewing screen. Although Tenchi had mentally prepared himself to answer the inevitable question: 'how would I look in that one', a retreating moment still managed to sneak up on them.  
  
Aeka had turned to a handsome young Jurain in attire that would've been considered classy on any plane and Tenchi had merely stated:  
  
"Wow, that one's pretty cool."  
  
Upon his compliment Aeka turned a deep pink and looked down at her hands, apparently trying to suppress a smile. Tenchi had hesitantly begun to ask her if anything was wrong when she replied with a shy yet remotely seductive voice:  
  
"That is one of the outfits many Jurain men wear on their honeymoons."  
  
Tenchi had been instantly thrown into his favorite defensive position: filling a moat with blush and building a wall with an itch on the back of his head. Normally someone would have changed the subject till they could feign forgetfulness, however, much to his shock and slight excitement, she had looked up at him with sweet and seemingly inviting eyes. The swarm of butterflies in his nerves settled only when he heard the bounce of Ryo- ohki's red ball too late to stop its collision course.  
  
After rubbing the sting and shock from her skull Aeka had turned a raging face towards a slightly frightened Ryo-ohki, but re-holstered her weapon as she remembered Tenchi still sitting in the corner of her flaming eye. He tried to confirm that she was okay, but Aeka only replied with suppressed gruffness.  
  
"I wonder why Washu included such dangerous toys in the games file."  
  
Dragging his thoughts back to the chess game, he noticed his queen begging to be moved. The sight of a king and queen next to each other, as corny as this was, brought more visions of himself and Aeka in that position.  
  
*Just tell her you're having a nice time. You can't stay afraid of this forever, you always say you wish you had a way to help you choose between her and Ryoko, well now YOU'RE COMPLETLY ALONE WITH HER! For crying out loud Tenchi, let things get romantic if they will. You may not like to trust fate, but look at what those chess pieces are making you think of. Face it; the cards are defiantly set for you two. You're about to see her home planet-it ^is^ technically half yours by the way.  
  
Every word of Tenchi's inner lecture brought his eyes up closer to the violet wonder of the princess's gaze. Just as he was considering her lips he heard an overhead announcement from Azaka. The princess endured a swallow of something fowl and turned her head to answer it.  
  
"Incoming transmission from Jurian Warship Rona Five," the guardian reported in his usual official voice.  
  
"A warship?" Aeka's surprise forgot her frustration as she rose from her seat and walked towards the main viewing area beneath the leafy heart of her ship.  
  
"Oh I suppose father ^would^ want a little more security in this area wouldn't he. Open up communications Azaka."  
  
Tenchi looked to his right and noticed that Ryo-ohki seemed to have frozen in the middle of approaching them with a game of chutes and ladders. The sudden appearance of a stout Jurain officer on the ship's viewing screen distracted him from the slightly anxious looking cabbit.  
  
"This is Jurain military vessel Rona Five. Greetings your highness, I hope you are well. My name is Captain Chiron, and I have been ordered to inform you of the kings recent decree." Though he spoke with the utmost professional respect, he either couldn't see her from his own screen, or was trained never to look royalty in the eye.  
  
Aeka darkened, but quickly regained her presence.  
  
"At ease Captain, what is this new decree?" The nervousness barely showing through could have been impatience.  
  
The Captain brought up a piece of paper and read formally. The nervousness barely showing through could have been motivated by something besides Aeka's position.  
  
"Until further notice, or unless specified by the Emperor Himself, no one is to enter or depart from the central Jurai system save for the Emperor and the High Nobility. I can only allow you to pass Princess, your current passenger must either be detained or depart."  
  
"WHAT!" Aeka yelled with wide eyes and clenched fists before the top of the paper even disappeared.  
  
Tenchi took a step back from where he had approached the screen. Ryo-ohki walked up and wrapped an arm around his leg for comfort. Aeka inhaled deeply without any real belief that it would calm her.  
  
"I knew he'd try something like this, I just knew it!" Aeka yelled at the floor before looking up at the officer violently. "Well Captain, I'll have you know that my ^passenger^ is a direct descendant of Jurai's royal bloodline, and he ^will^ pass!"  
  
This time the guard looked directly at her, either he was an android, or he more than feared the emperor's will; he believed in it.  
  
"I'm very sorry Princess Aeka, but I shall be executed if I disobey my orders."  
  
As Aeka sucked in more air to continue the argument a gentle hand covered her shoulder. She whirled around wildly and barely calmed at the recognition of Tenchi's face.  
  
"It's okay Aeka, I'll just meet you back at home," he tried in a calming voice.  
  
"Back at home? But how will-," she began with confused exasperation.  
  
"I'm sure Ryo-ohki could take me back." Tenchi assured her with a smile down at the cabbit toddler who instantly raised a thumb in enthusiasm and with a faint squishing sound was compacted again, sitting obliviously on top of the chutes and ladders game.  
  
"Oh," Aeka snapped into softness, "I suppose that's our only real option then isn't it."  
  
"Yeah...but I don't think Ryo-ohki has a food replicater, do you?" Tenchi asked hopefully, but received a sad little meow and a shake of oversized ears.  
  
"I guess I'll have to bring along enough nonperishable food for a few days."  
  
"I suppose you will."  
  
"I'm sorry Aeka." He tried to sound extra sincere, though he knew it wouldn't help.  
  
"It's not your fault Tenchi, I'll try to get back as soon as I can." In short time the train station had become a wake.  
  
"I guess I'll go pack my things then." His voice was bland as he walked quickly off to Sasami's room. Once he turned the corner Ryo-ohki began to hop after him.  
  
"Ryo-ohki." Aeka called like a mother to a child who should have known better than to think they could get away with anything.  
  
Ryo-ohki stopped in her tracks, drooped her ears, and turned her head with a hesitantly questioning meow, shrinking into the floor as Aeka took very slow steps towards her. Gently and purposefully held up to eyelevel by the scruff of her neck, the somehow smaller animal tried in vain to look away.  
  
"I know I don't have to tell you to take good care of Tenchi, do I?"  
  
Ryo-ohki gave a nervous affirmative meow and looked from side to side to avoid the merciless glare.  
  
"I'm sure your mistress will be very pleased with how things worked out--- but I will never forgive her for this." The ice in Aeka's voice grew into sharp stalagmites and made her culprit shiver, but it only took a few more unfinished sentences to fester her rage into an eerie calm.  
  
"That you had to distract him from---now he has to ride in. That--- 'woman'. Does she think that this makes matters easier for anyone? What gives her the right to try and rob me of ^every^ opportunity? She's not the only person who's put their life at risk, and who would do so a million times more. She's not the only one who cries for him almost every night."  
  
Aeka lips and eyes were beginning to quiver just slightly enough to be seen when she brought Ryo-ohki a little closer to her face.  
  
"Is it because she thinks I already have everything I could ever need? Does she think my title earns me spite the same way it usually earns me respect?"  
  
She gently placed Ryo-ohki back on the floor. Holding emotion under heavy stone even as the distressed cabbit tried to meow something of an apology. The floor squeaked a little with the force of her turn away, her last words tried to be more than final.  
  
"I may truly never forgive her for this, and it may be hard for me to ever trust you again.  
  
Aeka's brow plowed a ditch with a slave's nearly completed hate while Ryo- ohki's ears swept the floor like the veils of an abandoned bride.  
  
***  
  
As Tenchi stood ready next to the repacked and replicated supplies he forced himself to try again to catch Aeka's eyes.  
  
"I-I really did have a nice time. Maybe we-" Tenchi began nervously before he noticed Aeka looking down at his feet. She answered in a distant voice.  
  
"Travel safely Lord Tenchi."  
  
He opened his mouth to reply and was teleported inside Ryo-ohki, his luggage and rations safely shrunk and sealed where his house had once been. The lone passenger looked empty deck and trying to open communications with Ryo-oh before he left. He lowered his head silently when he realized defeat in nothing to say.  
  
"Let's go home Ryo-ohki."  
  
The ship's affirmative meow passed over its only passenger and dissipated into the indifference of space.  
  
***  
  
-Friends (Part 2)-  
  
Age before beauty ascend. Age before beauty await.  
As glamour and mundane command what they must and what they will.  
As knowledge of time commands all things, proper respect to experienced skill.  
  
Age before beauty inquire. Age before beauty request.  
  
-ZJS  
  
Washu stood at the top of the shrine steps, almost panting from the long walk she'd felt obliged to take, already telling herself that the time for breaths would give her time to prepare for the immanent conversation. She pictured him inside, serenely sipping tea, waiting for her knock so that he could say 'Come in Ms. Washu' in that knowing tone of his. What she needed was a few direct questions, wrapped in formal greetings and goodbyes. Efficiency could beat out sentimentality even at this thin altitude; it had before.  
  
Both of them instantly saw more than clever disguises when they first met. The only people to meet her searching stares had been lovers and bitter enemies, and she'd almost told herself to defy the empathy next time it came around for the supple aura nourished by long periods of time lost in thought. There was little doubt in Washu's mind that if she were not careful she'd end up sharing more than a few old memories. Something about a handsome face attaching itself to a genuinely compassionate nature always turned her to gruel. The typical consequences of romance, however, hardly worried her half as much as the thought of opening things up to wide to close again. The questions she finally had ready by the time she reached the door were each fairly serious, all the more reason to keep things as impersonal as possible.  
  
"Come in." A formal voice for her gentle knock.  
  
*You know he knows it's you, just play along. And whatever you do don't call him Yosho. *You must have felt compelled to speak to him for a reason.  
  
Washu smoothed her shirt and entered with as innocent a look as she could put on.  
  
"Why Ms. Washu, what a pleasant surprise. Would you have some tea with me?" Yosho invited with hospitable hypotheticals.  
  
"Thank you, Katshuhito." Washu replied like a good friend, in business.  
  
They sat across from each other and took three sips nearly in unison. An impatient songbird gave up trying to cue the conversation and flew off before Washu finally spoke up.  
  
"So, did ^your^ daughter have a rebellious stage?" Washu asked with an air of exaggerated exasperation to leave room for humor.  
  
Yosho's left brow rose thoughtfully above his teacup before he slowly put it down without taking his eyes off the fluid inside. A longer time passed than Washu had anticipated for him to search for a memory and find a voice. Just as she was about to add a delicate amount of sympathy for his loss, Yosho spoke with a moderate amount of nostalgia for someone who'd lost a grown child.  
  
"The strange thing is, she didn't, not really anyway." Yosho began then took another breath for a fact that still seemed to puzzle him. "We disagreed on things of course, but she never seemed to have any desire to... 'test' me."  
  
"Really," Washu asked with interest and a hint of disbelief.  
  
"It actually worried me, I began to wonder if she was acting so agreeable to cover for something more severe than the usual things a growing child does." Yosho's perplextion ran almost parallel to Washu's.  
  
"On her wedding day I actually joked with her that just because she was such a cooperative child didn't mean her children couldn't be little monsters." A smile crept across his face at the fond memory and he hesitated.  
  
"But I guess Tenchi has never really been rebellious either, has he?" Washu asked with a rising disappointment that she might not receive any experienced advice, but her sage eventually looked up at her and smiled warmly again.  
  
"As valuable as experienced or educated advice on parenting may be, there is no scientific formula for it---just as there is no scientific formula for children." Yosho guessed a test at Washu's intent in his wise tone.  
  
She gave him a half smirk and looked down at her tea knowing that he was trying to be helpful, and also starting to get personal whether or not they were one in the same. Just as she was about to move the conversation onto the next issue, Yosho spoke again, this time with a greater amount of empathy for her situation.  
  
"Ryoko is a very unique person, as I'm sure you know better than anyone, however, she seems to have all the basic emotions of most people. Children usually react to their parents based on how they think their parents feel about them, I think if you show Ryoko that you think of her as your daughter rather than your experiment she'll be more open to you." Yosho spoke clearly enough for Washu to be certain that he'd prepared this advice in advance.  
  
"Thank you, Katshuhito," Washu answered after a long sigh.  
  
"You are very welcome." Yosho gave no sign that he noticed her moment of hesitation before his name.  
  
The laptop's functions began to beep under Washu's fingers before it had even fully displayed itself. A small dimensional portal opened next to her. The sword hilt, encased in a soft green sphere, floated out with a small saucer shaped piece of machinery below it.  
  
"I wasn't able to collect any data on the gems after Ryoko used them, and I wont be able to collect much while they're still in the sword, could you-" Washu was cut short despite her attempt to speak rapidly.  
  
"I'm sorry Washu, but I cannot remove the gems from the sword at this time. It might not make sense, but my reasons are my own." Yosho stated in a voice that left no room for argument but invited it anyway.  
  
*Okay, now he's pushing it. Why the hell won't he take the gems out? It has something to do with Ryoko of course, but what? Does he still not trust her? Is he just trying to get me going? I know scientists and holy men are supposed to have the greatest arguments, but I need to hold off on this.  
  
*Fine, I'll let him win, today. I need to throw him off somehow, besides I can always get Tenchi to-  
  
Washu typed meaninglessly on her laptop to buy time while she thought the situation over again. She raised her head and gave a disappointed but obviously accepting sigh of defeat. The sword came down in its little sphere as the machine placed it respectfully on the table in front of Yosho. He looked down on it and back up with a blank expression.  
  
"So, do you think Tenchi forgot to take it with him." Washu asked lightly with her arms crossed. Yosho imitated her half grin and answered in a casual tone that sounded more like Tenchi than himself.  
  
"No, he's been through so much with this thing already that he probably doesn't even want to look at it."  
  
***  
  
Tenchi watched Aeka's ship disappear into the artificial wormhole and continued to stare at the withdrawing Jurain warship until even the feeling that it was waiting for a fight faded into space. Carry-on luggage dropped and resonated loudly in the stillness of the ship's only room. He searched out a spare piece of earth fruit and took a passionless bite. Even his slow chewing almost echoed in a juicy slurp  
  
"I guess it's just you and me Ryo-ohki," he swallowed solemnly, making a chair of his softer bag. One of the crystals floating around him flew up with a reflection of Ryo-ohki's face in it. Her meow sounded far away and was clearly just as happy about the situation as he was.  
  
The ship's smooth and angled surfaces were kind of cool, he thought, but also kind of...cold for a ship that was actually alive. Memories of his first and only other time inside Ryo-ohki began to creep in but he shook them away, feeling that he'd been through enough with Aeka today and didn't need to start worrying about Ryoko too.  
  
"So can you really understand what I'm saying Ryo-ohki?" Tenchi curiously began to recall the times where it seemed she understood Sasami.  
  
"Meaoww!" Ryo-ohki answered enthusiastically.  
  
"Well then," he smiled, "Lets figure out a code or something, uh...hmm. Tenchi clenched his face in thought before shrugging it off. "I guess one meow for 'yes', two for 'no', and three for 'I don't know', yeah, I guess that'll work."  
  
Tenchi and Ryo-ohki tested out the new code and it seemed to translate perfectly, he considered trying to decipher a language out of her but decided it would be best to keep things simple.  
  
"So---" Tenchi looked around with his classic neck scratch and a tiny gleam of perspiration. "Are there any, uh, facilities in here Ryo-ohki?"  
  
"Meow-Meow-Meow," Ryo-ohki answered quizzically.  
  
"Oh boy," Tenchi mumbled then explained hurriedly, "you know, a ^bathroom^."  
  
Ryo-ohki made a sound rather like she was trying to muffle a laugh before returning an enthusiastic affirmative. The sound of glass being smeared against a heavy palm made the anxious passenger turn around with a start. A rectangular crystal was growing from the floor. It matched the surrounding crystals in color but gradually shaped itself into what was clearly a box-like toilet.  
  
Tenchi sighed in relief and walked briskly towards it, he looked down and pressed against the extra modern looking latrine with the palm of his hand. A grateful smile reflected on the surface that was much softer and warmer than he had expected. He began to undo his belt then stopped and looked around uneasily.  
  
"Ryo-ohki? You can't---see me, can you?"  
  
The ship remained silent to his hope for a little longer than usual before answering that she could not.  
  
***  
  
Ryoko floated out to the center of the onsen, inviting the steam to coddle her tired nerves. She closed her eyes and stretched, hypnotically running her hands through submerged hair as it ungulated like soft seaweed. Her arms came up to rest upon her stomach. As one hand moved down it brought a piece of a long side-lock with it. She opened an eye at the hairs sticking to her chest and began to daintily remove it. When only a few strands remained she felt compelled to press her palm against her heartbeat.  
  
The lone bather began an infrequent and invaluable private ritual, reminding herself with a soft inner voice that she ^was^ a person, that her love for Tenchi ^was^ real, that someday he would press his ear against her heart as they floated in the onsen. The thought of his skin against her in the warm water splashed a blushing grin across her face. She closed her eyes and hugged herself tightly.  
  
A few more tranquil moments and her eyes flared open at the sound of something falling into the water. She jerked her head towards the intruder and relaxed slightly when she saw the wash bucket she'd set by the edge floating like a paper boat. Right on cue her broken trance admitted thoughts of the very person she'd been avoiding.  
  
*Washu had better give me at least a few more minutes in here before she comes in and offers to wash my back or something. Trying to make me breakfast was one thing, trying to look at a dress catalog with me was another, but trying to talk to me about Tenchi---I could have killed her! Just waltzed onto the roof, poured herself some of my sake, then sat down and tried to be all dramatic: 'Ryoko...how do you really feel about Tenchi?'  
  
*I should have just blasted her head off right there. I could have dealt with a quiet and boring house for a week but instead she had to convince herself that pretending to be my mother was more important than any of the gadgets in her lab.  
  
The anger in Ryoko's face blinked away to triumph as she remembered what day it was. Slightly pruned feet swung above her gracefully as she back-flipped into the water. For a few seconds the onsen was still before Leviathan shot up from the depths, flipping her cool mane back and throwing a proud arch of water towards the ceiling.  
  
*But Tenchi's coming back today and so is Sasami. Everything will be okay, I won't crush Tenchi when he arrives, I'll wait for him to come up to me and then I'll give him a soft hug, it'll kill me but I'll do it. If I can just stay calm around him for a little while longer I'll get my chance. He'll come around, he-  
  
Ryoko's perception snapped back to the frontline for a faint sound. She tilted her head and wiggled a finger in one ear to make sure she wasn't hearing something uninteresting. It might be a plane, but plane's got loud then went away. This noise, she thought, was getting louder, and it didn't sound like it was passing over it sounded like it was...descending.  
  
An anxious breath filled and lifted her out of the onsen. She brought both hands together in Mihoshi-like giddiness with a lip bite for eyes dancing in gold light.  
  
Comforts of home, the living room, showered with droplets of steamy water and cheesy fried snack puffs, filled with a startled shriek as Ryoko teleported within an inch of Mihoshi's lounge. The glimmering and slightly insane face almost propelled the shocked officer over the edge of the couch. Instead of falling, however, she was caught in a crushing hug by a nude and very wet body.  
  
"HE'S BACK YOU BRAIN-DEAD COUCH POTATO!" Ryoko announced in near hysterics as pained baby blues bulged out above the dripping cyan mop.  
  
Just as Mihoshi seemed to be forming a word Ryoko dropped her back on the couch in a gasping heap and turned toward the kitchen. She faced off with her mother's confusion as she carried out a small steaming bowl of noodles. With emeralds stretched wide, Washu had only enough time to gasp before being lifted a few inches off the floor by her cheeks.  
  
"HE'LL BE HERE ANY MINUTE ^LITTLE^-WASHU!" Ryoko shouted into the frog-fish face between her palms before pressing her lips into the spiky ruby. A loud and exaggerated kiss smacked out of Washu's brain before her daughter dropped her and her soup into a yelping pile on the kitchen floor.  
  
Droplets of water sprinkled themselves about as Ryoko flew towards the doorway. She passed a weary Noboyuki then backed up and stared at him with bursting bliss. The man's face turned in-over-his-head-pervert-red.  
  
"Uh...uhhh." Noboyuki began to blubber before Ryoko asked in a near psychotic voice:  
  
"Guess what 'dad'...THE PRODIGY SON RETURNS! HA!"  
  
Ryoko promptly bent and smacked Tenchi's father on the rear end, literally knocking him off his feet. A soaking blur of fleshy plastic and cyan cotton phased through the front door as a middle-aged wail clutched what felt like a broken tailbone.  
  
Washu stood up with a deep frown, surveying the carnage while picking off bits of noodle.  
  
"The expression is 'the ^prodigal^ son returns'," she grumbled and began to roughly wring the broth out of her blouse.  
  
***  
  
The welcoming party shifted her weight from foot to foot to resist the urge to fly up into ship as it parted a small group of clouds. She began waving upwards and giggling to herself till a sudden breeze made her notice her nudity. Ryoko glanced about anxiously and teleported away with a small blush. She reappeared in a few seconds fully clothed in her blue and yellow house-kimono. The fabric was clinging to her still moist body but she only considered the situation for a moment before she smiled mischievously and decided to act oblivious.  
  
The ship hovered motionless for a minute before the colorful transport silhouette of a person appeared on the dock beneath it. Ryoko teleported in front of the indistinguishable aura and as the gentle reassembling of atoms began to take shape she closed her eyes and began taking not panicking breaths.  
  
From the shore Washu brought out a half grin as Ryoko and Aeka stood in front of each other with closed eyes and happy smiles. When they simultaneously greeted Tenchi with a tender embrace their eyes and entire faces shot open in disgusted shock. Ryoko levitated back a few feet while Aeka worked her rusted arms down. When a second silhouette revealed a slightly taller second princess, Ryoko stared in disbelief. Sasami smiled brightly at Ryoko, not noticing her grave expression, then waved at the rest of the household as they made their way up the dock. The brat and the demon remained locked in a deadly starring contest till at last the better villain spoke.  
  
"Where---is---Tenchi," Ryoko asked in a vehement whisper.  
  
"What?" Aeka's confused hush began to drain the color from both their faces.  
  
"Hey you guys, where's Tenchi and Ryo-ohki," Sasami asked turning between the two solemn figures and the clueless-looking group.  
  
Aeka and Ryoko looked from Sasami, to a puzzled Washu, then back to each other. Realization crept up on Aeka like a venomous snake. Her eyes nearly swallowed the sky.  
  
***  
  
Tenchi was not a daydreamer. He did not make time to brush his head through the clouds or idle his hands in empty pockets. Mentally drifting off to fantasy worlds, he thought, was something that should be left behind with diapers and magic. Both Tenchi's father and grandfather had reminded him constantly that success would not come without focus. He'd yet to find anything to prove them wrong.  
  
Magic. Tenchi thought to himself. He often thanked fate for providing Washu to remind him that everything the 'master key' had brought him was at least explainable if not believable. Of course, Tenchi preferred not to believe in fate either. Spiritual or metaphysical questions always made him uneasy, he figured he wouldn't settle into that kind of thing till he was an old man. Unfortunately the few days left aboard Ryo-ohki would give him nothing but time to think.  
  
He shifted his weight on the bed-like crystal Ryo-ohki had snuck up behind him when he tried to spread a spare blanket on the floor. What seemed like a hard surface before had somehow turned into a surprisingly warm and comfortable amorphous cushion. After the nap that soon followed he had "talked" with Ryo-ohki till he was all out of yes or no chitchat. Now he was almost ashamed to be mentally reciting equations and foreign phrases to keep himself occupied.  
  
It was futile, trying not to think about Ryoko while in her ship. But Tenchi tried all the same. At last he pressed his hand into the crystal cushion and a vision of Ryoko relaxing in the same spot blurred everything else. The knowledge of what she would do if she were there came next and caused him to lightly slap his hands over his face with a sigh of defeat. Ryo-ohki seemed to pulse with Ryoko's aura, just as strong as Aeka's connection to Ryo-oh, and perhaps just as desperate. He still had to think of an effective, yet safe way to even things out for leaving with Aeka; careful consideration straightened his face.  
  
Ryoko's mannerisms had been simultaneously getting better and worse every day since Aeka's parents had visited. She'd started to share more of the house work, and only tried to smoother him when she got drunk which also seemed to happen less frequently, however, she was getting more clever and daring in her attempts to seduce him. Tenchi, tried to blink away memories of a few "accidents" that had made him blush even more for thinking back on them. He groaned and shook his head at the time he'd actually tried to forgo hygiene to try and repel her, he should have known it would have the opposite effect. Ryoko had whispered something in his ear about sweating in the dirt and he almost blacked out. That was a particularly long, cold and paranoid shower.  
  
Tenchi finally figured that his best hope would be to take her somewhere that would keep her too distracted to have enough time to work up another scheme. Potential outings bounced around in his head.  
  
"Merrow!"  
  
The urgent cry startled him onto the floor as the ship seemed to come to an abrupt stop.  
  
"What the heck is going on Ryo-ohki," Tenchi asked with mild annoyance as he collected himself.  
  
"Meyooooooow," Ryo-ohki called. A screen appeared holographically over a small section of the surrounding dome.  
  
Tenchi's eyes widened at the image of a rust red and rusty spaceship floating near or far for all he could tell on the crystal floating before him. Its shape reminded him of a plastic wig or a streamlined brain, pipe veins and antenna hairs were worn and there didn't seem to be any obvious weapons on it, or any lights. The craft remained lifeless as Tenchi asked Ryo-ohki the usual questions and continuously received three meows.  
  
The crystal began to buzz and snow with interference. Ryo-ohki began to speak in cabbit language again before beckoning Tenchi closer with glimpses of a human face and what sounded like a distress call.  
  
***  
  
-Verse Two-  
-Friends (Part 3)-  
  
Tenchi looked frantically for the image to return in a different spot.  
  
"Ryo-ohki, can you bring him back?!"  
  
"Meow-meow."  
  
"Well can you bring him here, he looked like he was drowning or being electrocuted or something!"  
  
"Mer---meow-meow," her disappointment blew through the surrounding crystals like wind chimes.  
  
Tenchi began to pace and clutch at his skull, wondering and running with thoughts of 'too late' and 'mistake' and not really reassuring himself with a 'could be a trick'. But the man's voice had clearly pleaded for help, and a crippling lump of compassion choked him into submission. He exhaled resolutely, looked at the ship still displayed on the crystal, and spoke as first mate of the star ship Cabbit.  
  
"Ryo-ohki-can you transport me to where he was transmitting the message from?"  
  
"Mrrrreeew," Ryo-ohki seemed to be considering the question as she began moving quickly through space again. Both of them remained silent for a minute till the slightly larger vessel seemed like a stone's throw away.  
  
"Meow!" Ryo-ohki answered triumphantly.  
  
"You can," Tenchi asked hopefully and received the same sound in confirmation.  
  
"Well then-"  
  
He hesitated his enthusiasm, realizing that once aboard he might not have a way to tell Ryo-ohki to bring him back. Tenchi stood there all but biting his nails as he wimbled over the situation till an idea finally broke through his indecisiveness.  
  
"Ah-ha!"  
  
Tenchi scrambled towards his bags and came back with an old portable radio that would save the day.  
  
"Ryo-ohki, if I turn this radio on inside the ship, will you be able to pick up the signal?"  
  
"Meow," Ryo-ohki answered after her passenger alternately filled the deck with static and silence.  
  
"Okay then---lets do it." Tenchi confirmed with a deep breath's preparation. He closed his eyes and clenched his lungs, finger on the radio switch like a trigger.  
  
***  
  
The temperature aboard the alien ship was cold, but somehow Tenchi could tell it was under control. Every tiny notch on the radio left its signal on his hand as he dared to open up to the toxic gases swirling around him.  
  
A deep inhale of almost mountain-fresh air flung his eyes open in startled relief. He breathed in again through his mouth and let it out slowly. The next breath should have been for relief, instead, he began scratching the back of his head as he looked for more overt threats in the new surroundings. The fact that nothing looked particularly alien should have comforted him, should have given him sanitarium jitters at worst since the sterile metal tunnel contained nothing more than lifeless strips of hospital light.  
  
The hallway curved around to identical mystery on both sides. Tenchi took a few steps in one direction then a few more in the other and stopped to center his clueless expression. He looked at the radio then brought out his wallet and pocketknife from the other pocket. These meager supplies offered him little more than a coin to flip. He probably couldn't and shouldn't try to carve any arrows in the floor.  
  
An eerie moan from the left hall made him breakout in gooseflesh and wish even harder for his grandfather's sword. The house haunters and padded cellers had nothing on whatever pain or position this person was in. It had to be the man from the message, Tenchi assumed, not thinking to believe he had more than one person to rescue. He managed to pocket his tools and dash towards the sound before he could thoroughly consider going back for help. Forcing away his fear along the way was like battling a sour aftertaste.  
  
He hadn't gone more than twenty yards before the hall opened up into a room large enough to contain his entire house. The rectangular chamber seemed identical in design to the hallway save for three significant differences: a large window taking up most of the farthest wall, a truckload of elaborate machinery spread out near the center, and a man suspended in what looked to be an extremely painful force field.  
  
Tenchi hurried over to the side of the static glow prison and stared helplessly. It had to be the man from the transmission. The sickly yellow light encasing him crackled more violently as he quivered out a hand while fighting for words.  
  
"Can you hear me sir?!"  
  
Tenchi looked him up and down for some sign or even inspired guess.  
  
"How do I turn this thing off," he asked again with even less valiance.  
  
The man stared straight at him for long enough to practice some obscure new hybrid of delusional rage, but quickly closed his eyes back into an expression of obvious torment and strained to point. Tenchi watched intensely as it slowly shook its way towards a thin cylinder jutting out of a pile of dense tubes and spidery wires. He scrambled in the appropriate direction and looked down. It was roughly the height and diameter of the polls used to connect ropes and keep impatient children busy in amusement park lines. A square red button gleamed on the top, almost hot as he held his palm a few centimeters above it.  
  
"Sir, do you want me to press this?!"  
  
He began to shake almost as much as the man he was trying to help, who, after a moment, showed his teeth and nodded his head violently. For a moment the prisoner's clenched teeth stretched enough for a maniacal smile. Tenchi closed his eyes just as tightly and slammed his hand onto the button. The field vanished and collapsed its contents onto the floor before Tenchi could thank anyone for making his heroism relatively easy this time.  
  
The freshly liberated man was dressed in simple dark green slacks with a white long sleeve shirt. As Tenchi helped him to his feat he noticed how soft the material was, and that it didn't seem to have a drop of sweat on it despite the near hyperventilating winds beating down on his neck and shoulders. Tenchi stood back as the man bent to clutch his thighs and slow his breath.  
  
The aided rescuer placed a comforting hand on the helpful victim's back when both had apparently regained their calm.  
  
"Are you okay sir?"  
  
The man moved quickly at the quiet voice and slightly startled Tenchi as he took the youth's hand in both of his.  
  
"Thank you! Thank you so very much! I've been praying for so long that a ship would come by. I am in your debt kind sir." His voice whined between a starving dog and an overacted coward. He had sunk to his knees again and hung his head as if begging for his life rather than being thankful for it.  
  
"N-n-no problem," Still nervous, Tenchi helped him to his feet.  
  
The man was only an inch taller, with a soft and homely face. When he looked at his benefactor his eyes shimmered gratefully but maintained the slight focus of someone recognizing an old acquaintance. Tenchi bowed formally to suppress the chill running down his spine at the thought that this man somehow reminded him of Ryoko.  
  
"My name is Masaki, Tenchi." After the hurried introduction he remained bowed for longer than normal as the stranger remained deathly still.  
  
"Masaki..." He sighed as Tenchi's manners eventually had to shape up. "My name is Dr. Hetmu."  
  
The Dr. neither bowed nor extended his hand but stood still with breath and smile both rising in excitement. Tenchi grimaced and began to look around the room again, mostly to avoid the repulsion of the Dr.'s awkward face as it now reminded him of the more hopeless geeks at his school.  
  
Right on unknown cue, the Dr. floated eagerly back to where he'd been imprisoned moments before, explaining how he'd accidentally walked across the field generator. He spoke with all the ineloquent enthusiasm of someone trying desperately to impress a potential new friend. Tenchi only half-noticed the explanation, and the uneasy silence that followed as he tried to figure out how this man could levitate about the way Ryoko did.  
  
*Maybe it's the gravity. But then why are my feet on the floor? Oh well, it's probably normal for him, and it's probably best not to ask.  
  
"Well Misaki Tenchi, I think the least I can do now to repay you...is to show you something ^special^."  
  
Dr. Hetmu beamed as he wrung his hands over the worn control panel between them. Tenchi tried to remain polite as he noticed the tiny gleam of nervous perspiration on the Dr.'s forehead and began to feel a trickle of his own.  
  
"Show me---show me what?"  
  
"You're probably wondering why I'm out here in the middle of nowhere, right? Well I'm doing work with something very important, and I can't have anything get in the way." Burned out flash words fell away and the Dr. began to speak more fluidly as he typed away on the panel. Tenchi continued to tell himself not to be suspicious and hence rude, but still pocketed his hands to feel the reassurance of the radio.  
  
"Really?" He asked knowing that he'd be given more information shortly whether he spoke or not.  
  
"It's something the military has recently abandoned. They said it was too unstable." The Dr. chuckled softly as he looked up with a knowing expression. "Maybe for simple minds. Please observe the window Misaki Tenchi." One last key clicked with flare as his voice softened in almost sinister anticipation. Tenchi turned and looked, but instinctively kept glancing back at the still floating figure.  
  
A clear tube roughly the diameter of a basketball rapidly extended into space, a circular indentation beneath the window seemed to connect it to the inside of the ship. Tenchi's quivering hand almost switched the radio on when he noticed Dr. Hetmu duck quickly behind some scenery. The scientist popped his head back up again after only a moment with a wide and excessively friendly grin that forced Tenchi to relax.  
  
With all the paranoid hesitation of a lab shut-in, he got up and walked towards the window caring a force field container that bore a striking resemblance to the one's Washu used to carry important samples. The thick disc emitted a cylinder of glass-like light around an amorphous ball of energy slightly bigger than a fist.  
  
The reddish center of the orange globule reminded Tenchi of the animated films about cells he'd seen in science class. He examined it curiously, uncertain of what state of matter it was in. Before he could inquire, Dr. Hetmu roughly pressed open the indentation leading to the tube outside the ship. Tenchi was no less shaken when a button on the bottom of the container released the sample. A secondary door closed behind it and within seconds the strange orange mass raced out the tube.  
  
"Tenchi, that funny little glob was simply a class 9-G plasma cell. They give off no radiation and are generally harmless. Scientists use them all the time for probes and other tests because they're ^very^ sensitive to change." Dr. Hetmu explained almost professionally as he made his way back to the pile of machinery near the control panel. He lifted and sifting through a cloth bag and removed a small object with the glossy shine of luxury plastic.  
  
Tenchi once again balanced his finger on the radio switch as the Dr. strode purposefully toward him, grasping the pill shaped instrument in his hand like a weapon. Again a meter apart, Dr. Hetmu held the object level with Tenchi's face. A short probe flashed out of the top like a switchblade, sending him into a defensive posture by the end of his flinch. The Dr. chuckled and closed his mouth around the tip of the probe.  
  
"What the-" Tenchi asked dumbly and relaxed his pose.  
  
Loud chuckles gurgled out of Dr. Hetmu as a drop of what looked like toothpaste foam leaked out from the corner of his mouth.  
  
"It's just a mouth sterilizer Misaki Tenchi," the Dr. teased with a hearty swallow, "nothing to be afraid of." Tenchi watched nervously as he held it forward again and sprung the moist probe in and out of its compartment like a child playing with the automatic lock on a car door.  
  
Dr. Hetmu opened out his other hand to show Tenchi a tiny black box.  
  
"Take this, and press the red button if you please."  
  
Hesitantly, though the offer didn't even sound like a sales pitch, Tenchi took the small device. He looked at it like a bomb, became noticeably nervous, and pressed the button roughly as he closed his eyes. No change till Dr. Hetmu roared with laughter.  
  
"Misaki Tenchi---it's all right---I'm not going to kill my benefactor," his laughter barely settled enough to continue, "with a mouth sterilizer,"  
  
Tenchi opened his eyes, pressed the button again, and noticed the prong in Dr. Hetmu's hand retreat back into storage. He repeated the process and sighed in embarrassment when he realized that the world detonation button now controlled the strange man's toothbrush. Now that they were both relaxed the Dr. went and put the little tool into the tube he'd sent the plasma cell through. As the small object chased into space Tenchi raised a confused eyebrow.  
  
"Now, please do me a favor and don't press the red button again until I ask you to," the Dr. spoke in his professional voice again, but sounded as if he were talking to himself. His hands pressed eagerly against the window.  
  
"Uh, okay," Tenchi replied with sluggish curiosity and slowly walked towards the window to figure out what toothbrushes had to do with plasma cells. He stood a few feet to the left of Dr. Hetmu for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.  
  
"All right Misaki Tenchi." The Dr. said softly.  
  
"You want me to press the button?"  
  
Tenchi's uncertainly was answered with a slow nod. He looked at the small device in his hand, shrugged, and casually jabbed his thumb into it. A brilliant flash of orange energy exploded in front of them. The detonation raced out to an enormous size before stopping its growth while maintaining its glare, it reminded Tenchi of someone he'd seen blow cigarette smoke into a soap bubble.  
  
The ship shook with a violent tremor that flung Tenchi onto the floor and out of his shock. Underneath his own yelp he heard the sound of cracking plastic. He looked up at the still statuesque Dr. and patted his pocket with a look of fear that soon turned to slight panic. Pieces from the old pocket radio were scattered everywhere.  
  
A shadow spreading over him brought his attention back to Dr. Hetmu. Tenchi smiled up at the suddenly stone face sheepishly and accepted a hand that pulled him upward with more force than he'd expected. Tenchi rubbed his lower back and bit his lip.  
  
"What the heck was that?" Tenchi asked with suppressed indignity.  
  
"^That^ was the plasma cell. You see Misaki Tenchi, with a few slight modifications the sensitive qualities of theses cells can be exploited to make hypersensitive mines. The miniscule flux of energy released from my mouth sterilizer within a few meters of the cell caused the explosion that we felt more than fifteen kilometers away. Can you imagine how invaluable such mines would be? Specialized equipment can maintain or change their position quite effectively, and they don't even have to be touched to detonate; all they need is the tiniest change in energy."  
  
Dr. Hetmu spoke in an enchanted monotone, the only obvious sign of emotion shone in his eyes as they stared at Tenchi with something like obsession. The hero's initial uneasiness returned tenfold, and he scratched the back of his head, averting his attention over to the Dr.'s machinery in the hope that when he looked back the unsettling display of power would be over.  
  
"Can you imagine the possibilities my friend! Surely you agree that this discovery cannot be discarded as 'too dangerous'." The Dr. sounded almost fanatical now as he gripped Tenchi by the shoulders with a fierce grin.  
  
"You really are a hero Misaki Tenchi, if you hadn't freed me I might have never been able to use this invention to its full ^protective^ capabilities!" The Dr. relaxed his hands, but the intense look on his face still made Tenchi feel thoroughly threatened.  
  
"Uh, no problem-well it looks like you have things under control here," Tenchi began anxiously. The Dr.'s face calmed and he let his hands fall from his audience's shoulders.  
  
"I'm sorry about your device Tenchi, I should have warned you. Well, lets pick up the pieces and see if I can't fix it." Dr. Hetmu offered warmly. Tenchi smiled graciously and bent to collect what he prayed would be his ticket far away from this scientist and any other explosives he might have. As he made his way towards the largest piece he decided firmly that if the radio couldn't get him back aboard Ryo-ohki within the next five minutes he'd ask the Dr. to transport him. He clung to the hope that he could make it home before a massive search party was sent out.  
  
Tenchi bent over to pick up one of the radio's batteries and held it tightly in his palm, he was reaching for the other when he noticed a change in the room's lighting. The slow appearance of numerous orange glares on the polished metal floor made him squint curiously. He angled his head at Dr. Hetmu, but his question retreated back into his throat at the singularly violent grin starring down at him from the assembly of machines. Widened eyes instinctively rolled upwards and twisted the rest of his body with them like a wet washcloth. At least a dozen amorphous balls of orange plasma were rapidly descending from holes in the ceiling.  
  
"Dr. Hetmu!" Tenchi shouted as he sprang to his feet.  
  
The alarm reverberated around him and the cells seemed to respond with a foreboding yellowish glow. He crouched and put his hands up like a child about to be pounded by the schoolyard bully, sparing only the pitiful plea for mercy. When he opened his eyes again the cells were floating around the room, each about two meters from the floor and some closing in on him.  
  
The collective glow of energy cells subsided and gave him no more than a meter of space on every side. Soundless, but altering their amorphous shape like thick soap bubbles, they hovered in place with no more emotion than a shark's eye. With a terrified gulp Tenchi shrank and balanced into a crouch. He was preparing to call out to the Dr. again in a desperate whisper but was cut off by the hairpin rasp of a nasty little chuckle cut off into mocking confidence.  
  
"Tenchi, if you do not stay calm you will most surely set off an extremely destructive chain reaction."  
  
The sudden change in how he was addressed brought back all the young man's original reserves about boarding a strange ship. They almost jeered him.  
  
Every step Hetmu took to close the distance between them widened Tenchi's eyes a little more. The cells seemed to move respectfully out their master's way while collectively creating a denser crowd around the next potential test subject. Dr. Hetmu sat down across from him with all the suppressed excitement of children gathering for story time, his benefactor lowered his posterior to the floor as if it had just sustained a painful injury.  
  
"Dr. Hetmu, I, uh, get your point, I'm sure these things will be very handy, but could you ^please^ just-" Tenchi gave up his desperate whisper as he noticed the almost giddy expression on the Dr.'s darkened face. Every feature contrasted with the warm colors that had almost completely cocooned around him. A raging glare over a sharp grimace; like a sinister demon mask he'd seen at a festival. There was no longer anything about the Dr. that reminded him of Ryoko, the slight tint of gold had become a dirty venomous yellow; the only person who came to mind was Kagato.  
  
"So this is it Tenchi, a hearty sneeze out of you would do the trick. By the way; as passive as you may think teleporting back to Ryo-ohki may be, well...you're welcome to try it." The accomplished Dr. had also apparently written the book on how to gloat over a tortured prisoner.  
  
Tenchi rewarded him with another layer of fear at the sound of the cabbit's name. He began to mouth his disbelief, but was cut off by another rancid giggle from his captor.  
  
"And those light hawk wings of yours-" the next inhale must have had some good drugs in it, "you wouldn't get them half formed."  
  
"You killed my master Tenchi, but now you will avenge him yourself," he lowered his head willfully close to the edge of the cage, savoring every anxious breath his prisoner made, "one way or another."  
  
"But h-h-how," Tenchi asked despite his overt fear of any answer. The Dr. merely smiled even wider and placed his hands on his knees.  
  
"I'm so glad you asked Tenchi. I'd explain with a professional presentation of charts and diagrams, but such a display might ruin the joy of having you detonate the cells yourself. So, I'll just tell you a little story." Despite all the typical mannerisms of a stage villain, Tenchi realized that the Dr. was likely following a premeditated script, but was definitely ^not^ acting.  
  
"After you killed my master and destroyed his ship I was released from the storage dimension I'd been waiting in." The Dr. paused and inhaled spitefully.  
  
"He only put me in there for safekeeping. Ryoko was expendable. He only wanted to call on my loyalty when he really needed to," Each sentence reassured him quicker and hotter than the last, but he seemed to still be barely sane enough to notice the second glow rising on his face. His teeth caught and ground most of his next accusation.  
  
"^You should have just let her go back where she belonged^!"  
  
Tenchi had enough time to re-gauge his surroundings while the Dr. de-raged himself with head down and arms relaxed.  
  
"Luckily, when the dimension collapsed, shortly before the ship, I was able to teleport away from the explosion onto a distant freighter I knew of. Kagato had this ship in a private storage facility with a number of his other 'acquirements' including these handy little cells.  
  
"He thought he'd only use them as a last resort. I guess they are a sort of cowardly weapon---but the ends justify the means here Tenchi." With every word Dr. Hetmu sounded more and more ready to reel up and squirm down into either sobs or maniacal laughter.  
  
"Keeping track of you without Washu knowing wasn't too hard, but I started to grow impatient and considered bringing these gifts right to you."  
  
Having taken long enough to prepare the look to be ^the^ look of winning malice he figured he might as well raise it slowly to display.  
  
"Then you decided to take your little trip. I'd hoped to intercept you on your way back from Jurai, however, this will do."  
  
He folded his arms and casually removed a remote from a strap on his wrist.  
  
"So now Tenchi, here are two options; you can try to get past these cells, or you can try to get the control switch from me. Although you are quite surrounded, maybe you could turn yourself into something small or nimble enough to sneak through.  
  
"But if your transformation doesn't set them off a clap of my hands surely will. I guess-" he continued with an air of cruel euphoria, "I guess that only leaves the options of praying, begging, and getting it over with."  
  
Tenchi struggling through his gapping mouth for some any-words. The Dr. just smiled.  
  
"I'm sure you already understand; now that I have you, my work, my life here---is done."  
  
The man Tenchi had known not to trust from the first moment greedily sucked his smile in and hugged himself in childish triumph.  
  
***  
  
Ryo-ohki scanned the ship again, located two life forms and sighed a small meow to herself. Her worry and homesickness were only evident in echoes across blank, darkened crystals.  
  
***  
  
Tenchi tried to keep his eyes on his hands, every time he looked up he was instantly repulsed by an expression that made him feel like a piece of dark pornography. It was difficult enough to stave off panic, much less devise a plan. He'd finally taken enough deep breaths to think clearly and gone over his surroundings enough times to paint them from memory, but still he wasn't blessed with even dumb-luck inspiration. All his training thus far had been based on quick reflexes, strength, and stamina; now only the latter now seemed useful. The same fear kept returning; someone would come to his aid only to end up with the same fate Hetmu had planned for him. He fought viciously to keep himself from thinking of his family in the past tense.  
  
*It's too soon to give up Tenchi. This guy thinks he's holding all the cards, and he definitely seems to enjoy watching you squirm. Grandfather always said that overconfidence was one of the easiest things to exploit in a battle.  
  
*But DAMMIT! He doesn't seem to mind getting blown up with me, how the hell do you reason with a kamikaze pilot? He's just sitting there, waiting for me to kill us both. In his mind he's already won---his mind. Just how crazy is he?  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Tenchi asked solemnly.  
  
"Why?" Hetmu returned curiously after taking a moment to acknowledge that someone had spoken. Tenchi kept calm despite his frustration at not being able to tell if the doctor was considering his question or mocking it.  
  
"Is this really the greatest thing you can do with your life: use it to kill us both? If you know so much you have to know that I didn't ^set out^ to kill Kagato." Tenchi continued with an effort of compassion. He struggled to keep his face serene as Hetmu's maintained its mask of perverse enjoyment.  
  
"You'll have to do better than that, I figured out the meaning of my life a long time ago. Keep your fear of death Tenchi, and keep any notions of ^enlightened compassion^ that might 'make me see the light', I-" Hetmu stopped his bitter response and chuckled again.  
  
"I guess it is a little rude of me not to provide you with a holy person before you go, no last requests, not even a last meal---which reminds me: I can go without food or sleep for a very, ^very^ long time."  
  
Tenchi closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He wondered if maybe his captor was actually intending to watch him whither away rather than instantly vaporize. A look over at one of the energy cells and then back at all of Hetmu's sick glee; it was enough to consider calling his bluff. After a momentous gathering of courage, he tried to stare the sadistic man down, watching for any signs of wavering, of insincerity. He found nothing but a cold weight in his stomach from direct exposure to such a truly miserable creature.  
  
"How can I make you understand?" Tenchi asked softly, almost surprised by his now genuine, albeit not entirely outward, sympathy.  
  
"If I could have gotten Kagato to leave Ryoko alone without any violence I would have---don't you see that it isn't right to try to own people? I can't imagine how you could want to avenge someone like him, weren't you a slave too?" A memory of the battle pulled on his throat.  
  
"You don't know anything!" Hetmu whispered harshly, his face twisting with barely suppressed rage. "Ryoko was a tool. I was---I was like a ^son^ to him. He cared about me." Hetmu flattened his lips over his teeth with clenched fist eyes. "The real question---is how could you care so much about that, that ^thing^?"  
  
Tenchi lowered his head and fought back the urge to lunge forward. The burning sensation he'd felt towards Kagato as he robbed Ryoko of her humanity was rising fast. He smothered the flames, but in doing so left only the softer ashes. Visions of Ryoko's smiles began to scroll past him, despair was creeping in again and the thought of her and everyone else's reaction to his disappearance made him choke. His eyes perspired for the weight hauling up his throat.  
  
The idea of dying without being able to say goodbye to anyone spread across his mind like a bitter frost. It entwined him like a surreal worm, every thought stained and crippled under a slow and pitiless crawl. Eventually the feeling, once completely gorged, crystallized, festered, and spread thick wings to suffocate Tenchi's mind. He spoke in shivers:  
  
"I'm---I'm sorry Dr. Hetmu. You're wrong about Ryoko...but maybe I'm wrong about Kagato. I never wanted to kill anybody, I don't have any quarrel with you and I just don't see why we both have to die like this."  
  
"Shut! Up!" Hetmu hissed at the withering spirit. "You had your opportunity to try to talk me out of this and you failed...^miserably^. One more reason out of you will be all the reason I need to end this game." A bit of spittle flung itself over his bottom lip, and he wiped it away with half a surly gesture, not wanting to hide his pride surprise for such clever wording.  
  
"But, of course, you're welcome to snivel all you like."  
  
Tenchi hardened himself as Hetmu's willful inhumanity overloaded and stretched a crack in his self-pity. He tried to remain dignified and once again gathered his will to stare back at his captor. Neither wavered till he was satisfied that Hetmu had understood his silent defiance.  
  
He closed his eyes and assumed a meditative posture, a little surprised that it came so naturally.  
  
*I never was too good at meditation, but this seems like the best time for it. None of the regular methods seem to be working and I'll be damned if I'm just going to wait for my life to flash before my eyes.  
  
* Maybe I'm too young to achieve the acceptance of death those old priests have. I don't know if I can 'free my mind' but if now isn't the time to try then I don't know what is.  
  
Hetmu fidgeted then cautiously began to pace around his relatively motionless captive. The confident smile shifted on a vulture's head to watch for the last twitch of his vanquished nemesis. He idly caressed the surface of the controller with soft anticipation, resisting the urge to cut short any plan the young man might be devising.  
  
Tenchi hoped his frustration at the difficulty of his task would not set the cells off. Disconnecting himself from physical sensations was never as easy as it sounded. Everything around him was perfectly standoff quiet, but his mind continued to flood him with memories and thoughts.  
  
For a single moment, however, he caught, or rather, he felt a glimpse of what he was pursuing. A tiny speck of tranquil euphoria entirely unlike anything imagined, much less promised, blinked in and out of his consciousness. He held tight to his already fading memory of that state or unnamable place and chased it for what would be measured on earth as almost a day.  
  
***  
  
The battle to ignore the aches of his body showed no signs of an end, not as a coddle or even a tease, however, when Tenchi resigned to open his eyes, he did so as someone awakening to the sun rather than a buzzing piece of machinery. The first thing he saw was the same loathsome face he'd turned away from. He stared at his executioner with unflinching sadness and a weightless measure of acceptance. His captor appeared momentarily puzzled and readied himself to mock his prisoner once more. Each of his tears felt like condensation gathered on glass instead of oil squeezed from stale food, and he slowly placed his hands together to search out what he could not find in his battle to capture meditation. One desperate prayer spread throughout existence like a tiny ripple of water.  
  
Hetmu was so consumed with how best to climax the degradation of his already humbled foe that he remained oblivious to the uninvited host, even as he hummed a decadent pipe organ tune.  
  
***  
  
By sibling resilience and common ancestor defiance, and always more, beginning concepts bend to the wills of two sisters, pulled back like a hasty feud curtain drawn across a shared room. But just for mutual benefit formality, reassured. A voice spread and a will focused, falling leaves and tempered stone for mutual concern, formality. Too soon for offense, yet still in defense, a caretaker spoke first, taking care not to disturb her younger future self.  
  
^What do you 'know' of this?  
  
*Shouldn't you be more concerned with what I 'do' for myself?  
  
^That has already been postponed.  
  
*And so will this.  
  
^Then please, tell me why I'm still inspired to ask you.  
  
*I'd rather not speak on this---this matter.  
  
^Are you frightened then?  
  
*Why should I be, if I already know?  
  
***  
  
His footsteps were barely more audible than the light flapping of excessive fabric. The pale man walked like a shadow up to take its place, wearing his height, his grooming, and his very existence with the all- consuming pomp of an emperor with new clothes. Every color of his loose robe-like jacket fit into every ill and overpriced shade of green and white. His lifeless gray hair was flattened back and down with all the natural beauty of a very well made taxidermy. Melted chalk spread over smooth plastic and passed for skin. The way he peered over his dark little spectacles confirmed the voice of all these neutral colors as they called out declarations of pitiless greed. Kagato spoke coyly into his dignified steps.  
  
"Well Hetmu, I must say I'm impressed."  
  
Captor and captive jerked their attention in his direction with a head-start, soon racing to see who could drain the blood from their face the quickest. Tenchi uncorked his mouth and put the lids on his eyes to shake them clean. Hetmu's arms curled to his face like overcooking strips of meat and he stammered worse than Tenchi had.  
  
"M-m-master! Master...it c-can't be!"  
  
Kagato continued at the same pace and held his hand out. When Tenchi saw him begin to palm a ball of green energy he felt his whole body brace for the last impact. The pirate roughly gripped and squeezed the ball into a large sword radiating between thick light and dark metal. After the instant explosion that never came, Tenchi tried to relax but was almost confused into shock that the cells had not reacted at all.  
  
"I'm no ghost, so you can stop your shaking." Kagato stopped to Tenchi's left and looked down on him with that same cold superiority that Tenchi had tried too hard to forget.  
  
"It would take more than a lucky strike."  
  
"^But how^?!" Hetmu choked and his master turned slowly, approaching him with a hand for the suddenly timid man's shoulder. The contact served to freeze rather than comfort.  
  
"Well, I suppose it was a bit of a close call. Witnessing what I thought was my own demise was indeed fascinating...wouldn't you agree Tenchi?" He brushed the words out without even looking at the shocked face behind him.  
  
"But...the Soja...I...you-" Hetmu muttered, still staring wildly at Kagato, who smiled as smugly as a child who'd found the perfect hiding place.  
  
"It took a while, a lot longer than I would have liked, for me to regenerate, but I did. Without a ship I hid out in an artificial dimension to consider my options. I wanted to call you to me, but I saw this as a perfect opportunity to observe how you'd react on your own."  
  
While Kagato was explaining himself, Tenchi blinked again and starred in disbelief, not at the arrival of someone he thought he'd killed, but at the way the pirate's hair seemed to be parting itself in the back, as if by a pair of invisible hands.  
  
"I-I-forgive me master! I should have known you were still alive-I should have looked-I just wanted to avenge you so badly that-" Hetmu nearly sobbed as he sank to one knee, bowing before Kagato like a slave awaiting his deserved punishment.  
  
"Come now Hetmu, don't get sentimental with me. I'm here and that's all that matters now. I am actually proud of you, this trap for Tenchi was rather clever." Kagato said with a microscopic hint of kindness.  
  
"R-r-really sir!" Hetmu anxiously dared to look up.  
  
Kagato reassured his servant by going over the details of Hetmu's deception and the finer moments of the prisoner's humiliation. All the while the conversation gradually became distant to Tenchi as he stared more and more intensely at the strangely exposed area on the back of Kagato's neck. When a small black rectangle phased out of the resurrected pirate's flesh he merely mouthed the words: 'what the-'.  
  
Hallucination became a likely explanation; upon closer inspection the black rectangle appeared to be a plastic slot similar to the ones people fed credit cards to. He told himself that this apparition had to be the result of his exhaustion, but soon thousands of other explanations rushed in to exploit the possibilities of Tenchi's departed sanity.  
  
*Is Kagato a machine? Is he even really there? Am ^I^ really here? Have my prayers been answered or am I in hell already? Ryoko...Aeka...Tsunami...I can't be loosing it like this.  
  
Tenchi continued mouthing the names of his family in another pitiful attempt at contact. He stopped moving and thinking all together as the possible hallucination became too vivid to ignore. Thin paper with large type began to snake its way out of the plastic slot like a receipt, and he could do nothing but gape and read:  
  
^Hello, Tenchi. Please try to stay calm and try to believe me when I say that you are neither dreaming nor insane...I don't think. I am assuming Kagato's form so that I can get us both out of here. If you can simply play along this will all work out perfectly.^  
  
The utterly stupefied expression remained on Tenchi's face as Hetmu rose and starred down at him. Kagato turned and the message faded away.  
  
"Well, I guess my master has something even ^better^ in mind for you." Hetmu tried to imitate the confidence of his master but came across as a hyperactive gremlin.  
  
"W-what," Tenchi asked with half a breath and wide eyes that grew even wider as the plasma cells began to rise upwards. Only a shadow of a memory of quick escape reflexes waved in the distance before he saw then felt the menacing shape of Kagato's blade slide in a millimeter beneath his throat. He looked up its length into his new captor's eyes and could only imagine that this was either indeed the cruel being he'd battled more than a year ago, or an excessively accurate impersonation. The heat under his chin increased.  
  
"Up," Kagato ordered his much-loathed pet.  
  
Tenchi slowly rose on gelatinous legs.  
  
"Now Tenchi, just because you aren't surrounded by my special mines, don't think for a moment that you have any more chance of escaping." Kagato kept his focus on the hall both he and his prisoner had entered through. Soon as his steps found a matching pace Tenchi's dumbfounded expression froze itself to the floor.  
  
"Master-" Hetmu called out respectfully. They stopped beneath the hall's first arch. "I shall wait here then?" Tenchi looked up at the sinisterly calm face, but it remained focused ahead.  
  
"Yes Hetmu, I shall secure him and his ship and return for you. You've done well."  
  
Tenchi tried again to pick out something to identify this Kagato as an imposter but failed.  
  
"Thank you master...^master^?" Hetmu asked from beneath the grateful worms.  
  
"What is it Hetmu," Kagato responded with calm impatience.  
  
"Forgive me for asking master but, will you be long...in returning?"  
  
Tenchi almost turned to look at him, unable to believe but still curious to see if any being could carry so much pain in their voice without shedding a tear, however, he remembered his position above Kagato's sword and looked up it again. The pirate closed his eyes and pushed up his spectacles. He smiled and looked down at Tenchi as if they shared a private joke.  
  
"I'm sorry if you had to wait in the stasis of that dimension for so long, but don't worry Hetmu, you'll be with your master relatively soon."  
  
They rounded down the hall, the glow of the plasma cells fading behind them. Tenchi eventually guessed that Hetmu couldn't even hear their synchronized footsteps anymore, then realized that he wasn't the one matching their step. He closed his eyes tightly; walking in the dark could hardly add more absurd terror to this situation. A cold, freezing, vacuumed hell rush of air blasted them open. For no more than a second or a half he was completely without perception save the vision of solid white.  
  
Tenchi collapsed to his knees on the bridge of Ryo-ohki gasping and clutching at his chest and something worse than asphyxia, completely overwhelmed with a mixture of prickling dizziness and pure terror. There was a pounding urge in his head to scream out like a lunatic, but at last he began to feel the calming effects of the oxygen Ryo-ohki was generating excessively for him amid worried meows. Only mildly better, and only physically, he rose to his knees and glanced around. Everything was as he'd left it, and Kagato was standing over him with an amused look on his face.  
  
"Sorry I didn't warn you about that, traveling this way is always rough the first few times, but you'll be just fine."  
  
Kagato spoke not only in an uncharacteristically friendly voice but also in a completely different voice altogether. It was similarly calm, old experience still too vain to show a wrinkle, seduction seemed just softer- sober enough. When he rolled his head, however, instead of cracking neck bones, the sound of gently crumpling fabric carried throughout the small ship; Kagato's flesh and clothing fell away like a bathrobe.  
  
The skeleton underneath was a slender man with a proud to be tall posture. Intense blue eyes lorded over the smooth plains. His blonde hair grew down behind his ears and half a foot past his shoulders onto a long-sleeved metallic raspberry shirt, its velour hanging loosely over straight black pants. He held the heel of one shiny rounded boot to the side arch of the other, ready to bow or walk a tightrope or trip if he wasn't careful. The nail polish and underline of mascara were a dark strawberry, almost mirroring, perfectly matching his shirt. It was probably gloss on his lips, but it matched just as well just the same. With his wiry fingers stretching the fabric over his tough sissy biceps, Tenchi could only remember a flamboyant group of American musicians he had seen on TV. Kagato's impersonator smiled for the sincere flattery to come.  
  
"We can work on explanations later, for now I recommend you direct this ship out of here."  
  
His croon went a little more relaxed and a lot more frank. Tenchi merely nodded and ordered Ryo-ohki to take them home as fast as she could. The ship meowed so enthusiastically that he tensed at the idea of setting off the mines with a victory parade, but the only flash came in a blur of stars. He smiled awkwardly and slumped into the non-personal though still personalized crystal chair.  
  
The captain looked at his savior again who strolled up to the far left to watch nothing pass them by. Unable to keep his eyes open, the still balancing figure began to disappear into darkness. He cringed in painful aftershock at what he'd felt when they left the immediate trap. But the memory soon passed with the last weary thought before the dream, that his new passenger's smile was noticeably warmer than Hetmu's. 


	3. Verse Three is Concentration Part 1&2

---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person that same kindness three fold!  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
If a guest room is not available, it is customary to offer one's own living quarters.  
^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^  
  
-Verse Three-  
Concentration (Part 1)  
Visiting entertainment---with an open hand and steady eye.  
  
Entertaining visitors---in a grateful focus to ally.  
  
When the host expands his watch---what time will there be to move?  
  
Although the expert is willing---will the experiment disapprove?  
-ZJS  
Ryoko and Aeka had completely ignored every subtle suggestion and deliberate direction towards working together to find Tenchi's whereabouts. A few bitter words between them and they were equally convinced that the other's hand was deviously delaying love's return. With everything but blood held out as witness, each had sworn not to let the other out of their sight till there was an arrival or an admission.  
  
For nearly 24 hours they kept an eye on each other, favoring opposite ends of a card table. They rarely dared to blink for fear that a sinister plot might similarly unfold and refold on the back of the other's eyelids. Brilliant violet and amber oils eventually became stagnant pools circled by black wax canyons. By focusing so hard on appearing to have more physical stamina they almost forgot their agonizing worry. In keeping each other from conducting a search, perhaps such defiance of reason provided a subconscious hysteria blocker. Washu had told herself that it at least kept them both from messing up the real scientific search.  
  
Sasami sighed solemnly into her soup, and with every second stir she stole a glance over her shoulder at her sister's sour expression. The purple plumed princess seemed to pulsate with a pouting putrescence at the pirate placed before her. Ryoko remained rigid with righteous refusal to retreat from the repulsive royalty residing at arm's reach. Neither wavered as Washu walked whimsically up to the two waning women with a wink at their wonderful cook.  
  
"Well, since you two have taken it upon yourselves to forgo ^everything^ to perform this ridiculous mutual interrogation, I thought I should bring an update on the real world." Authority tried to be playful, but frowned seriously when former criminals and vacationing diplomats both continued to ignore her with little effort.  
  
"Oh-^Kay^ then," She warmed herself up with moderate agitation before reading from a holographic report.  
  
"Our weather today should go as follows: mostly sunny with a 14% chance of fog in the evening and a 28% chance of rain tomorrow morning. The price of shrimp has gone up by 40% in the past week as a result of tide abnormalities, so we wont be having that for dinner for a while. A new subway system was opened in western Tokyo and should be transporting its first load of passengers tomorrow."  
  
Sasami and Mihoshi were captivated by all the professional cheeriness of an experienced broadcaster. Ryoko only took a ragged breath while Aeka shifted her cramped shoulders. Anchorwoman-Washu smiled knowingly and continued.  
  
"In other news: the Mega-Super-Band concert last night required a relatively small number of riot police for crowd control, Ryo-ohki should be bringing Tenchi home in about three minutes, and there are reportedly environmental issues over foreign insect repellants being used by tourists. In a human-interest report, research is showing any research not conducted by the greatest, and cutest, scientist in the universe to be grossly inaccurate. Tune in for more updates at 11, central standard time."  
  
Washu turned around but smartly, and led a beaming Sasami and Mihoshi out the front door. The exhausted rivals held their ground in strained silence till a giggle in the distance mentally dropped a rather large safety pin on a polished glass floor. Ryoko and Aeka blinked simultaneously before their drained faces sprang to life with bulging elation.  
  
---  
  
"And five---four---three---two-" Washu counted down as she stood at the edge of the lake, gazing up at the sky with her hands held smartly behind her.  
  
The gladiators of love surged forth, one nearly shattering the front door, the other teleporting directly to the edge of the dock. They glared at the more alert champions between them till their faces were dragged upward by a jagged shadow spreading itself over the arena.  
  
"Ryo-ohki!" Sasami shouted as she left her blonde celebrating partner and ran up to Washu's side. The ship thundered with a greeting meow that dwarfed Mihoshi's own squeal of excitement.  
  
"TENCHIIIIIIIIIIII!" Ryoko and Aeka wailed as they raced up the dock.  
  
Atoms swirled together on the ground below the ship and materialized into a familiar young man. He had a small amount of baggage and a warm smile quickly exchanged for a grimaced at the two tidal waves of desperate affection coming at him from either side.  
  
Despite his lingering weariness, he quickly ducked and scuttled to the side like a cowardly crab. Washu, Sasami and Mihoshi took turns giving him hearty hugs as his two main admirers cuddled up to each other with all their might.  
  
"Oh Tenchi, I was so worried!" Aeka cried.  
  
"Where ^were^ you Tenchi...and when did your hair get so-" Ryoko's whine stopped curiously as she and her rival once again tied the realization race.  
  
When disgust, rage, and humiliation all demand control of a person's face the result is simply ugly. Tenchi braced himself when they spied him again, but their pounce was distracted by the sound of a second teleport directly behind them. Only Sasami and Ryo-ohki remained oblivious to the new arrival as the young princess caught and nearly compacted the freshly regressed cabbit.  
  
He stood tall yet relaxed enough for a long shower, his eyes remaining closed throughout his first long breath of earth's atmosphere. Everyone leaned forward with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion while the stranger tried to inhale every sound, light, and texture of the late afternoon. Were he not taking it with such calm dignity, Tenchi would have thought it to be his very first breath of natural or even artificial air.  
  
While his lungs continued to fill, a cool breeze made a flag out of the blonde hair billowing lazily around his sleek cheeks. He brought both hands together against his chest and made a grated wedge by connecting each fingertip, clearly a practiced meditative posture. His exhale came forcefully, unveiling intense blue eyes and a nearly euphoric smile. The group blinked or frowned then looked at Tenchi for some explanation to this nature-boy dressed for an androgynous nightclub. When the curiosity in question spoke everyone promptly turned back around.  
  
"Your home is very beautiful Tenchi." His soft, clear voice mixed humility and seduction for anyone listening.  
  
"Do you know this person Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked as if faced with a solar anomaly.  
  
"Yeah, who is this guy?" Ryoko echoed in a distrusting tone.  
  
Tenchi smiled absently and blinked hard to gather the memories of his strange escape.  
  
"I can't really say. All I know is that he's a master of disguise and that he saved my life."  
  
He shrugged a chuckle and began to understand how Washu must have felt every time she tried to explain one of her inventions in quick and simple terms. The crowd erupted in a symphony of confused sounds and alternate ogles at the man now calmly surveying the lake.  
  
"Tenchi!" Everyone turned again toward the house and Katshuhito's voice. "I think the soup is ready."  
  
"Oh my gosh, the soup!" Sasami gasped and ran inside with Ryo-ohki close behind her.  
  
"Um, well, hopefully we can explain everything over a good meal...if you'd like to join us." The newest guest at the Misaki home turned from the tranquil view of the lake to the gathering of confused and curious faces.  
  
"Thank you Tenchi, I'd be delighted."  
  
Everyone received a lesson on how to accept an invitation without seeming too anxious. Perhaps it was made easier by Tenchi's inability to extend one without being caught between polite and practical nervousness. The stranger acknowledged his manners and soothed his memory with a low bow, apparently made awkward by his height.  
  
The previously settled guests remained uncomfortably silent on the way to the dinner table while Tenchi gave a small introduction to his home and planet. The newcomer kept rolling his eyes about through the disclaimers of government and culture, not with disinterest so much as a preoccupation with absorbing all the sights of an alien Eden at once.  
  
Tenchi paused a few times between titles and characters to keep from rambling as well as to leave room for his guest to offer back some information of his own. He soon figured it would be more polite to get to that after the initial shock of a new world wore off. All the girls remained followed in a crowd a few steps behind them, their rude stares unnoticed.  
  
When everyone took their places at the dinner table Nobuyuki and his father- in-law quickly passed a puzzled expression from the tall western looking man to Tenchi, clearly asking what he'd brought into their home ^this^ time.  
  
Tenchi looked down at the steaming bowl of soup. His stomach growled, but he hated the thought of trying to eat with everyone still silently intent on his report. He took a deep breath and let it out when the last place at the table was finally taken.  
  
***  
  
"As you can see, I was telling the truth." Aeka interrupted without the slightest effort to resist this opportunity to gloat.  
  
"^Sooo^ I devised a code for Ryo-ohki and I to speak with, so that--- so that we could get home okay." Tenchi reached to bring them back before his guest could witness an infamous household pastime.  
  
"Meow!"  
  
The cheer from between Sasami's pig tales made Tenchi smile, thankful for the short distraction before he had to steady his voice for the story's turning point.  
  
"Everything seemed to be going okay...then we came across this ship."  
  
As his recount of events neared the climax he tried not to notice the worried rage building around him. When he told them of how Kagato 'walked in out of nowhere' Ryoko sprang to her feet.  
  
"WHAT!"  
  
Tenchi held up his hands to reassure the both of them that no one needed to be killed. He looked over to the next character, hopping to no avail that the separate but equally interested face would finish off with the happy ending. Everyone remained tensely silent till he wrapped up the adventure safely inside Ryo-ohki, who let out another proud meow at her heroism.  
  
"So here we are, I hope my benefactor's soup hasn't gotten cold while I tried to do grandfather's job." Tenchi sighed humbly. The old storyteller indulged a smug grin before inviting himself to be overshadowed by the savior's spotlight.  
  
"Wow! You saved Tenchi's life, thank you very much Sir. We were sooooo worried." Mihoshi beamed, before loosing herself and trapping Tenchi in a faraway stare. His blush was obscured by two very overt glares from either side of the table. She cowered away and returned her large thankful eyes to the guest who met them directly.  
  
"You're very welcome, had I known I'd be receiving such gratitude I'd have tried to find him and save him from something sooner."  
  
He'd done nothing more than help an elderly woman carry her groceries, but Mihoshi still blushed down at her food.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you to everyone," Tenchi spoke up politely. When the formal throat clearing was completed he nodded around the table, giving names to the still curious, disbelieving, and suspicious faces.  
  
"This is my father, Mr. Masaki."  
  
"Just call me Nobuyuki, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for bringing my son back... it's kinda strange that you're not a woman though." Nobuyuki said maybe less than half jokingly.  
  
"^Dad^!"  
  
"What? Think about it Tenchi, so far every time someone from space has come here it's been a woman," he reconsidered his defense slightly, "though didn't you say there was some guy with pink hair who-"  
  
Aeka breathed deeply at the memory of her unsuitable suitor and rose, bringing Sasami with her for a formal change of subject.  
  
"I am Princess Aeka, first heiress to the throne of Jurai. This is my younger sister, Princess Sasami. We are greatly in your debt for coming to the aid of Lord Tenchi." Aeka bowed gracefully while Sasami closed her eyes on a wide smile.  
  
"I can't believe somebody actually ^rescued Tenchi^! You must really be something." The little princess cheered. Aeka brought them both back down with a disgruntled whisper in Sasami's ear. The guest looked down with ever-humbled amusement.  
  
"And this is my grandfather, Master Katshuhito." Tenchi continued.  
  
"I also owe you a great deal of gratitude, please accept our every hospitality." Katshuhito bowed to the guest, yet kept his face somber.  
  
"That's Mihoshi across from you. She's a galaxy police officer." Tenchi complimented.  
  
"I know I already thanked you, but thank you so much again." Mihoshi giggled shyly.  
  
"Next to her is-" Tenchi began, but the new guest cut him off with too much charm to be impolite.  
  
"Professor Hakube, the greatest scientific genius in the universe."  
  
Washu raised an eyebrow and twisted her mouth in questioning surprise.  
  
"Everyone who enters the scientific community learns about you sooner or later. I wonder how some people would react if they knew you were still alive on this remote planet?" His voice remained soft, but the compliment grew a knowing edge.  
  
"How bout we leave them in the dark for the time being." Washu said seriously with a straight glance. His attractive characteristics were cliché, yet undeniable, and reminded her of the cheap romance novels she had read back in college. She brought up her laptop and began to type furiously on it, wondering if this strange person might provide for some interesting study, and figuring she'd let him slide on not calling her 'Little Washu' for now.  
  
"And this is Ryoko...she-" Tenchi hesitated and searched his mind frantically for the right words to introduce her. As he somewhat feared, she rose and introduced herself.  
  
"I'm Tenchi's protector and soul mate," Ryoko stared at the guest humorlessly. "I don't know who ^you^ are and this story doesn't make sense. If you can impersonate people so well how do we know you're being," she paused to look him up and mostly down," ^straight^ with us?"  
  
Not an eyelash quiver from either of them till Ryoko continued.  
  
"You may have saved Tenchi, but where is this Hetmu guy now, huh, still waiting in his ship? I'm sure as hell not offering any hospitality unless I get some real answers."  
  
"Ryoko!" Tenchi scolded with shock and embarrassment.  
  
"Don't worry Tenchi, I'm not offended, in fact I'm surprised you haven't ask me these questions already." The stranger spoke sincerely and paused for a slight sigh. "I hope this food is reheatable, because I don't think there's any short or easy way to explain myself." Another pause turned into a different breath and a different voice, ready for a more than personal confession.  
  
"Tenchi, do you have a book of names that are common in your nation?"  
  
"Um---yes, I think so, let me look." Tenchi answered curiously as he walked over to the large bookshelf in the living room and returned holding a small paperback with all the wear of an heirloom.  
  
"Thank you Tenchi." He rose, took the book with a bow, looked at it thoughtfully, and tossed it lightly into the air.  
  
Ryoko crouched, her fingers clenching small balls of energy. The open book came down on his slender index finger with all the ease of a juggler's blade. He scanned the selected page thoughtfully as he sat back down.  
  
"It has been so long since I have needed a name...it seems only appropriate that fate assign me a new one." His voice was quiet and distant enough to be talking to himself. Even Ryoko's face loosened in confusion while her energy bolts dissolved back into her hands.  
  
"So what name did you get?" Sasami asked in polite anticipation. The guest closed the book and held it at his side.  
  
"I believe the correct pronunciation is ^Say-ta^." The name curled out of his mouth without a hint that he was unfamiliar with their language.  
  
"Hmmm, I think that's my accountant's name...or was it his brother?" Nobuyuki thought aloud.  
  
"It's a fine name, Seita," Tenchi encouraged warmly after he and his grandfather silenced the man between them with a glare.  
  
"Better than sir," Ryoko grumbled under her breath.  
  
"Did you choose a family name as well?" Aeka asked with still lingering formality. Sayta remained silent and looked at the floor.  
  
"I was born on a space station where people from many different worlds mixed. I was the only prospective heir, and my parents are long gone...just 'Seita' will do fine."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any other family or friends?" Tenchi searched, hoping that he didn't sound like he wanted to get rid of his new guest who'd just restrained his self-pity so well.  
  
"No Tenchi, I doubt it." Seita took the few steps needed toward emotionless.  
  
"What about enemies, you still haven't told me if this Hetmu guy is still waiting for his ^master^ to come back?" Ryoko masked her spite only to make it more intimidating.  
  
"I should have told you this as well, Tenchi."  
  
"Told me what?" Tenchi had to ask before he could scold Ryoko again.  
  
"I think the expression is: 'If you play with blades, you will surely be cut'. Hetmu must have mistreated one of those energy cells; I felt the multi-explosion while you were sleeping. Based on how far away we were by then, the energy released must have been enough to destroy a small moon." Still from the deadpan, Seita managed to sound reassuring without taking any joy in the late Dr.'s demise.  
  
"Well that's a relief, I guess." Tenchi anxiously broke the moment of silence before it could stretch any further.  
  
"So how did you know him ^and^ Tenchi anyway?" Ryoko asked with half a breath's more trust in her voice.  
  
Everyone adjusted-asserted themselves through the initial throat clearing, harnessing attentive postures in time for his final face check. Although progressively ethereal, he spoke in clear tones and with the focused grace of someone who'd been through a number of rehearsals.  
  
"Kagato determined that I was the most qualified to help him with a special project, so he politely kidnapped me and commandeered my services. Tenchi, the portal I opened to transport us from Hetmu's ship is the inspiration ^for^, and the result ^of^ that project."  
  
Tenchi clenched in a few places but did not allow himself to flinch.  
  
"Unfortunately for him, his research with the portal progressed little if at all even with my help, and he was soon distracted by more...^lucrative^ opportunities." Seita gathered his thoughts again and looked from Ryoko to Washu respectfully.  
  
"It will be hard for me to explain myself without involving you two. If I rekindle any painful memories, I am sorry."  
  
Ryoko forced indifference and looked away from his sincere bow. Washu narrowed her gaze but nodded for him to continue.  
  
"When Dr. Hakube published her report on the 'potentials' of merging the 'mass' with other life forms, Kagato already knew that she was already close to achieving a great success. He was determined to null his time as her assistant and beat her to the patent.  
  
"Since we were in a rather remote area to study the portal, he decided that there was no time to find a fresh hutch of 'guinea pigs." Tenchi and Ryoko both shivered slightly at the mention of the infamous rodent.  
  
"As I mentioned, Kagato was very impatient. Rather than worry about gestation times for a new organism he attempted to merge mass DNA with an already matured organism."  
  
"You mean-" Washu interjected with jolt eye and drop jaw.  
  
"Yes, Kagato tried to give ^me^ mass abilities directly. He approached the task as if I had a genetic defect to be replaced. This procedure was made illegal long ago, when most scientists were still trying to efficiently monitor and correct such potential defects in the zygotes of parents."  
  
"In the what?" Sasami crunched a face.  
  
"Never mind that Sasami," Aeka interjected, "please continue Mr. Seita."  
  
"When Kagato added mass DNA to my own he was very vague in his explanations," he frowned slightly, "and merely annoyed at the pain it caused me. Although I was sure I would die as a result of the implantation, the irony is that I survived, but with only minimal evidence of mass ability. At this point I felt free to take comfort in Kagato's frustration."  
  
No one was yet ready to give him when he looked up for one, and only Washu spoke through the collective silence, and only to herself.  
  
"There are better ways to go about that kind of modification now, it only takes a little spark of genius to form an energy sword."  
  
Seita thought he noticed Ryoko considering a reply, but didn't wait up for long.  
  
"After I recovered I couldn't fly, teleport, or even project energy. All I could do was phase through matter and project a perception of myself."  
  
"Project a what?" Ryoko asked in an irate snap.  
  
"I guess I never really explained that, did I?" Washu snapped up from a sternly concealed reflection and offered a forced-cute voice that only redirected her daughters growing anger.  
  
"May I explain Seita?"  
  
"Certainly."  
  
"One of the most singularly fascinating things about masses is their ability to make hallucinogenic projections of themselves." Washu sighed as she was bombarded with sounds of confusion.  
  
"Lets see, how can I explain this simply? When Ryoko makes a duplicate of herself, well, it's not really a duplicate or even a manipulation of light; it's actually a psychic projection. The theory is that the masses evolved this tactic to deal with predators who were adept at seeing through organisms who projected holographic groups around themselves. The mass directly convinces anything within the range of its projection that it ^actually sees^ more masses than there are."  
  
Ryoko was getting confused, and her mother saw that it would only increase her hostility as soon as it no longer distracted it.  
  
"Your double isn't really there, your psychic projection of it simply connects directly to your perception and the minds of those around you so well that it might as well be real. Strange that that ability would be picked up; it probably evolved before the masses could produce energy blasts and isn't observed very often. The phenomenon has unbelievable potential however, and even I've had trouble really studying the true nature of even the simplest psychic abilities...I can't wait to get you into my lab Seita."  
  
Washu finished with a devious chuckle that made Tenchi cringe, but that at least gave Ryoko something to think about rather than chew on.  
  
"Uh...Little Washu, maybe that's not such a good idea."  
  
"I'm honored at the invitation Dr. Hakube." Seita's trusting bow surprised even the scientist so accustomed to needing so many kinds of persuasion.  
  
"Uh, I don't think I get it." Mihoshi mumbled, scratching her head.  
  
"He goes into your head and makes you see things that aren't there!" Ryoko snapped. "And that still doesn't explain much."  
  
A silent little apology smile managed to make Ryoko soften and look him over for a reevaluation.  
  
*He's taller than anyone here, but he certainly doesn't look tough. Maybe I should cut him some slack; someone else put through hell by Kagato might provide a kindred spirit.  
  
"Don't mind her, she can't seem to comprehend manners." Aeka reassured before giving a reflex return scowl for Ryoko's tongue.  
  
"As I mentioned, when my body first accepted the mass DNA it was still exhausting to walk through even one wall or simply maintain a duplicate of myself for more than a few minutes. Yet, despite my stunted abilities, Kagato still tried to train me as an accomplice in his piracy.  
  
"As powerful as he was he didn't like getting his hands dirty," Seita half shrugged his eyebrows, "but neither did I. Needless to say the training progressed slowly, so slowly in fact that impatience made him return to the portal neither of us had been able to figure out. He eventually admitted to creating it quite by accident.  
  
"He'd sent a probe into a black hole, trying to see if any trapped energy could be siphoned off for his ship. His theory suggested that this vortex was actually of the rare order that serve as unstable pathways to other galaxies... or even other dimensions of our universe."  
  
"How do you get energy ^out^ of a black hole?" Mihoshi wondered aloud. Washu opened her mouth to but Seita continued before she could interject.  
  
"Sometimes volatile or explosive matter can collide within them. Kagato had stolen a rather advanced piece of machinery to focus such traveling detonations into usable energy. It seems that one occurred either inside or on the other side of the black hole that was so large it shorted out the apparatus, vaporized the battery, and left what he could only describe as a dimensional rift."  
  
Everyone glanced over at Washu for clarification. They looked thoughtful but still confused, so she decided to hide her own fascination for the sake of security.  
  
"Was that your diagnosis?"  
  
A few quick uncertain blinks in her direction turned into a formal nod.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Washu looked back down on her plate and massaged her chin.  
  
"Large, focused discharges of energy can, in theory, rupture dimensional integrity. But there are only a few studies on this principle, and even fewer reports of the actual phenomenon. Creating alternate artificial dimensions is no sweat for a genius like me of course, but I'd be curious to see one truly opened like that...by the way, I don't recall Kagato having any sort of monitored rift on the Soja." Washu locked eyes with the respectful challenge one scientist gives to another when debating theories. To her surprise, Seita returned it.  
  
"Well, that is where the story gets complicated. Each time Kagato sent a probe into the opening it gave readings as if it were still inside the ship. After so many failed attempts to conjure something useful from my limited mass abilities, he became so frustrated that he 'suggested' I see the other side of the portal for myself."  
  
Seita lowered his head again and took a deep breath. When he spoke again he looked directly at Tenchi.  
  
"Do you remember the momentary sensation you felt when we traveled off of Hetmu's ship, and do you remember the aftereffect?"  
  
"Unfortunately, yes." Tenchi replied with an ill face.  
  
"Imagine being in that dimension for half of a terrestrial hour." Seita's voice went solemn for the experience of something intangibly frightening. Tenchi only stared in shock.  
  
"Traveled?" Washu rethought the word to herself in lingering disbelief.  
  
"When Kagato finally pulled me out of that dimension, I was nearly catatonic for days. He ran a few tests and found that, apart from overactive adrenaline, there were no negative physical side effects.  
  
Tenchi felt an instant rush of sympathy as he watched his guest fight for composure amid memories that were probably hard enough to comprehend, much less explain.  
  
"Inside that dimension there is no heat, yet I didn't freeze, and there is no atmosphere, yet I didn't need to breath. I told Kagato that there was truly 'nothing' inside the dimensional rift. He was so intrigued that he forced me back inside as soon as I had recovered my ability to think clearly. The second visit lasted an entire hour, or so Kagato documented.  
  
"Once again, my memory was blank from within a few seconds of entering the portal to the two or three days it took for me to recover. I inevitably convinced myself I would lose my mind completely the next time he ordered me inside." Seita paused for another long breath.  
  
"It was like being in limbo for the few seconds before I blacked out; my mind was active but went completely without stimulus save the tiny circle of matter that I came through and the cord that led me back to the ship. The initial disorienting weight of being inside made it impossible to coordinate myself enough to climb the cord. All I could do was hope the lack of tangible data would try Kagato's patience enough to make him abandon either the portal, or myself."  
  
The speech almost slowed to a crawl. Everyone looked at Washu for another explanation, but she was completely focused on Seita. Her brows were drawn together tightly as if confronted with a perplexing equation.  
  
"But something happened that I still cannot explain. After my second stay inside the dimension I could phase through objects and maintain a perception projection with noticeably more ease. Although Kagato hates experimenting blindly, he was enthralled with the connection.  
  
"I kept spending more time in that psychological torture chamber, each time retaining consciousness a little longer and finding my abilities strengthened after shorter recovery times. Eventually I could phase through anything without a second thought and create the kind of perception projections that fooled Hetmu."  
  
With almost professional speech timing, Seita blinked into Kagato, into Tenchi, and then into Ryo-ohki with all the simple dynamics of a slide show.  
  
"Wow! That's neat Seita!" Sasami beamed. Ryo-ohki let out a puzzled meow as Sayta's form returned just as simply.  
  
"It was entirely horrible, but not entirely unexpected, that I soon had to use this ability to impersonate wealthy merchants and bank owners---for obvious reasons. I could live with making Kagato richer, but I refused to cause physical harm to anyone. He tried all manner of threats and at this point I welcomed an end, however, he still made sure I didn't have an opportunity for ^any^ type of escape and continued to isolate me in that dimension.  
  
"I assume he was hopping that I'd develop flight and energy projection as my other abilities strengthened, but I never did. One day he sent me to make a copy of Dr. Hakube's progress with her mass experiments, and was furious when I told him of Ryoko's potential. He created Hetmu from scratch soon after by plagiarizing the same basic designs, but when he was finished I couldn't help but laugh aloud at the latest irony.  
  
"His new henchman was like the inverse of myself; he could project energy and fly with a great deal of effort," Seita paused for a silent chuckle, "but he could not phase through matter or create any sort of perception projection. So, naturally, Kagato put him in the portal to increase his strength.  
  
"Although he designed Hetmu to be completely loyal, the dimension frightened him more than it had me. He went completely hysterical whenever Kagato tried to force him in and so he had to be sedated each time. Like myself, he never acquired the other half of his powers, and I believe being drugged greatly lessened the dimension's effects on the abilities he did have."  
  
Sayta looked up at Washu and Ryoko with deep regret. They both raised an eyebrow.  
  
"It's my fault Dr. Hakube, if I hadn't stolen copies of your files Kagato wouldn't have been able to imprison you and control Ryoko. He initially intended to make you watch Hetmu destroy your daughter." Sayta and Washu adjusted their throats in a silent swallow and shared a deep frown at the distant memory.  
  
"But Ryoko took him out with one punch." Washu muttered nostalgically with a small smile.  
  
"I don't really remember, but I guess it's a shame I didn't finish him off." Ryoko growled in low.  
  
"Kagato hid his disgrace well, explaining to Hetmu that Ryoko was a mindless tool, that she was expendable. He said he would call on his ^real^ apprentice when he had an ^important^ job to do. I only saw another opportunity to anger him enough to discard me completely, so I mocked him, told him he'd never create anything as strong as Ryoko, and said that I couldn't wait till he inevitably lost control of her.  
  
"Apparently it was enough, he threw me into the dimension again, this time without a harness to pull me back. A large energy blast passed over me, and right before I blacked out I saw the portal itself contract into nothing. Whenever I was inside I'd always tried to focus on the small fraction of Kagato's ship I could see through the opening. Somehow his attack disrupted whatever was maintaining the portal and it collapsed. When I saw it close I...."  
  
Sayta breathed weakly and stared at his hands folded together in front of him. He spoke to discard a poorly prepared joke.  
  
"I've always wanted to ask someone what it would be like to know you are moments away from death," he shared a half hearted se la vi smile around the table, "if anyone else is curious, just ask."  
  
They were all silent again till Washu spoke with a coy bit of impatience.  
  
"So then ^how^ are you able to use this dimension to travel?"  
  
Expressions went unchanged.  
  
"When I regained consciousness something was very different. I believed that I was dead, for now I was not only without stimulus. I was without a body. I was fully aware of all my thoughts and memories, but that seemed to be all I had. With hardly an urge for an internal ritual I accepted that I had indeed died in the strange vacuum, and that the afterlife, for me anyway, was limbo. Decades must have passed with me trapped in a numb daydream. But that dimension, however frightening, proved once again to be a blessing in disguise.  
  
Expressions went unchanged as they followed each of Sayta's mundane movements for a sip of water.  
  
"All I can recall is thinking of a bar I had often gone to on my home station...and then I saw it." Sayta continued to his glass in the slightly bewildered tone of someone still trying to figure out an old family member.  
  
"Huh?" Mihoshi scratched her head.  
  
"It'd changed dramatically in décor, and the usual crowd had been replaced, but somehow I knew I was actually ^looking^ at the same bar. Soon I realized that my vision of the place could pan around in every direction with only a thought. At first I heard nothing, then after a few seconds my mind exploded again with input. I could see and hear everything clearly as someone present in the same room, but since my body and other senses remained non-existent I had to chuckle to myself at the idea of being a ghost.  
  
"I haunted every section of what had been my home even though there were only a few details left that confirmed where I was. I finally read a periodical and realized that two-" irony chuckled sadly to himself, "hundred years had passed since I'd been trapped in that dimension. My remaining family passed away before being abducted by Kagato, and now everyone I'd known was surely gone as well; alas I wasn't acquainted with any Jurains." Seita grinned simply at the princesses. Sasami and Aeka both blushed a little and tried smiling sympathetically. The moment's compassion ended with his intense stare back into his folded hands  
  
"My vision passed through walls as easily and quickly as I could will it. I saw the unknown brilliance of the station's inner reactors. I looked from one far end of the station to the other in a fraction of a second, and I even admired it from every angle within space. My scope seemed limitless, able to blink to any place I could remember, though none of them were in fact as I remembered them. Soon the speed with which I could scan entire solar systems made the fastest ships seem frozen.  
  
"Revelations aside, I realized that this new existence was far crueler than any limbo; to be able to see and hear everything in the universe, but to remain essentially dead. In desperation I actually tried to speak with a random stranger." Seita paused for another small chuckle at himself.  
  
"He did not hear me of course...however, I heard myself. My voice was clear, yet it truly did sound like it emitted from a mouth left unused for centuries. I could not feel any part of my body, but I believed for a moment that I was still alive. And a moment was all I needed.  
  
"My entire consciousness focused on making contact with the universe I'd once lived in. After a headache that felt ready to turn inside out and devour me---I began to see the empty white of the dimension again, gradually crowding around my vision. Thinking I was loosing my only bridge I tried to force my window back open, and it left me with a perfect circle slightly smaller than the one Kagato had put me through.  
  
"I thought for a moment that this small peephole would remain my only way to create new memories, to keep whatever was left of me from dissipating into an insane circle of recycled thoughts. With a desperate cry I moved towards the window, and then I noticed the man I had tried to speak to; he was starring at me in terror.  
  
"I got as close as I thought I could, praying for some kind of two-way window, not knowing I'd been given a revolving door till I suddenly felt a cool breeze touch me. A moment later I fell out of the dimension at the man's feet. If he'd know how ready I'd been to worship him like a New God he probably would not have run off so quickly."  
  
Tenchi blinked hard while everyone else leaned in closer still.  
  
"It seems that I had been completely preserved within the dimension. I was unchanged from when Kagato had banished me, save for a few important aspects: my mass abilities came with less effort than breathing, and after hardly more practice I could enter and exit the dimension at will. It gradually became a sort of highway for me; from inside I could travel through the universe, see and hear the wonders of planets whole galaxies away from any sentient life, and return to any place that'd made an impression with only a thought.  
  
"When I checked back on civilization and learned that Kagato was still at large I thought it would be funny to show the old pirate that I...still couldn't fly, or project energy." Seita spoke with a slice of vehemence that echoed in Ryoko's eyes.  
  
"But you never found him." Washu interjected into his story nonchalantly.  
  
"No, I cheated my mortality by spending decades and centuries safely and numbly inside the dimension. My new obsession with confronting Kagato kept my mind occupied as I searched system after system, rarely taking a small break to age a little and remind myself that I was not, in fact, a ghost."  
  
Seita rubbed his hands together, lingering on the reaffirming sensation of his own flesh.  
  
"There is a lot of space in the universe, even with clues and my all but limitless scope I could not find him"  
  
"So just what were you going to do if you did find him?" Ryoko asked with little apparent concern for his sentiment. Tenchi gave up her disappointed glance to his plate as she kept her own focus on the tall calm rising from the table.  
  
"In addition to my mobility-" Seita sided stepped and was swallowed up by a two dimensional white hole that blinked shut again like a camera lens. He emerged from the same hole next to Ryoko, who was already on her feet to meet any sudden movements. "-and my perception projections." His face changed into an exact match of Ryoko's and back into his own in a single slow amorphous melt. "My phasing abilities have become so automatic that I am essentially invulnerable."  
  
"Oh, is that so?" Ryoko asked in a challenging voice fresh with the sting of the last time someone had copied her face.  
  
"Strike me as hard as you wish Ms. Ryoko."  
  
"Ryoko!" Tenchi protested despite Seita's calm.  
  
Her fist shot forward before he could finish the first syllable of her name and hit what appeared to be a perfect hologram. She stumbled forward a little, hand disappearing inside him with less resistance than a plume of smoke.  
  
"What the hell?" Ryoko stared angry confusion into her fist.  
  
"My body seems to sense any sort of impending damage immediately and merely relaxes its atoms. It happens in the same way you phase through a wall."  
  
"^Atoms^? Fascinating." Washu spoke to her laptop as she alternated glances between the screen and Seita as he sat back down.  
  
"But I understand your point Ms. Ryoko; although I may be fairly invulnerable, I am still essentially harmless. As luck would have it, someone got to him before I did, which only left finding Hetmu."  
  
"Why wasn't he destroyed with the Soja?" Aeka asked.  
  
"I believe the majority of Soja's storage dimensions did delete, however, he probably put Hetmu in a more advanced model, one which allowed him to watch the battle and see Tenchi in action. But the ones intended to preserve living organisms are often more separate from the system's whole and require periodic resettings of containment times. So, when neither the Soja nor Kagato were around to reset his dimension it collapsed and expelled him into space.  
  
"He must have been strong enough to survive and devise the plan he had for you Tenchi. It really is astounding fortune that I was headed toward the area I'd heard Kagato was destroyed in, and thus noticed Ryo-ohki on the way."  
  
"I'll second that." Nobuyuki raised his glass to Seita who blinked and picked up his own to imitate the gesture politely.  
  
"That was...wow. I've never heard such a story." Tenchi shook his head in sympathetic disbelief and looked over at his new guest.  
  
"Maybe I'll write a book." Seita replied with friendly sarcasm.  
  
"It'd make a great manga!" Mihoshi chirped and blushed when her suggestion received an almost smug smile from the author. Ryoko's eyes narrowed and she hissed conspiracy across the table at Aeka. With a few nods she directed the princess to the way Mihoshi was looking at Seita, she watched her ponder for a moment and readied herself to share a devious grin. The rivals landed in the same boat again, instantly recognizing the possible benefit of keeping the stranger around. Aeka spoke up in her kind, diplomatic voice.  
  
"You have my condolences for all that you have suffered Mr. Seita. May I ask what you plan to do now?"  
  
As his new guest twisted his lips and looked to the side in thought, Tenchi, for once, actually took a hint.  
  
"If it is alright with my dad, I'd be honored if you'd stay as a guest. It would be the least I could do to repay you, this planet has a lot of beautiful things that will hopefully make you forget about all that time in- --that limbo." Tenchi was good at being friendly while staying formal, but the only word he could think of still made him visibly uneasy.  
  
Seita looked down and took a deep breath. He silently cracked his knuckles in an absent motion as if it were a more polite way for warmth than blowing on them. The smile and happy to be passive voice was for everyone though it pointed straight at the host. He placed his hands back on his lap, watching them as he bowed.  
  
"The honor would be mine Tenchi."  
  
***  
  
Azaka and Kamadake absorbed the sunset from their respective posts, sensors blinking faintly as they let out a contented sigh in perfect unison.  
  
"It's so good to have everyone together again," Kamadake mused.  
  
"Indeed it is," Azaka agreed contentedly.  
  
"I do hope that Lord Tenchi's new guest doesn't have too much trouble adjusting to his new surroundings."  
  
"As do I, yet I have a feeling that it might be a while before we have any more peaceful days around here."  
  
"You're probably right old friend, and you know what that means."  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"^We'll be mostly ignored^!^"  
  
The guardians whined together into the sunset.  
---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person that same kindness three fold.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
If a guest room is not available, it is customary to offer one's own living quarters.  
Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum  
  
-Verse Three-  
-Concentration (Part 2)-  
  
The Misaki house was quiet. Its well-kept features still an invitation to strangers and a comfort to inhabitants. Tenchi approached with a content hum in his throat and a relieved beat in his step. Home awaited, ready to sooth the stress of his first week back at school.  
  
Sasami's scream filled the entire house and erupted into the surrounding forest like a million hot needles. The earth had surely opened up to swallow her. Without a word and with only half a thought, Tenchi dropped his school bag and sprinted through the front door, looking wildly for Sasami and the source of her terror. Sapphire hair flailed upward as Sasami bounced on the recliner. He began racing towards her, but a lively chorus of laughter quickly let the steam out of him.  
  
"Sasami?" Tenchi gaped and gasped in confusion. He looked past the pig- tales as they began whipping to the side and noticed Seita sitting across from her.  
  
His latest guest had been staying at the house for a little more than a weak but he had seen him in almost 20 different outfits. Usually his attire was consistent with the flamboyant musician theme he'd arrived in, however, he now wore what looked to be a theme park uniform.  
  
Tenchi continued to look at him ever more questioningly. Seita stayed with Sasami, his fingers spread and pressed together in an arch under his eyes. The almost darkly focused expression on his face made Tenchi slightly uneasy, but on the adjacent couch Mihoshi was watching them as innocently as a cartoon.  
  
"Tenchi's home!" Ryoko cheered as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. Her embrace was actually too gentle to elicit a complaint, instead he inquired seriously.  
  
"What the heck is going on Ryoko?"  
  
"Oh, them. You remember how Seita said he could make people see things, well I guess he's pretty good at it. Sasami thinks she's on a roller coaster." Ryoko replied in a slightly annoyed voice.  
  
"She does?" Tenchi asked again in near bewilderment.  
  
"Yeah, he said it would be like a little vacation without actually going anywhere."  
  
Tenchi looked at the two in the living room with a lost expression, then looked straight at Ryoko, who blushed slightly as she still usually did whenever he initiated serious eye contact.  
  
"Is it?"  
  
Ryoko turned away and crossed her arms to eye Seita as if he were eating something bizarre. She managed a secure answer, still sneaking a peak back at Tenchi's face to keep from losing all the blood in her cheeks too quickly.  
  
"I don't know, he did it for Mihoshi, then Aeka tried it to make sure it was safe for Sasami---" Ryoko paused and added smartly: "She got a little sick."  
  
"Washu tried it for a minute then ran off to her lab to prep him for some more tests. I don't know why he's not still in her lab. The whole thing's kinda creepy if you ask me."  
  
Mihoshi walked up and smiled at Tenchi, then to herself.  
  
"I think it's fun." She mused, twiddling a strand of hair.  
  
"You would." Ryoko mumbled.  
  
"Oh, Lord Tenchi. Welcome home. Did you have a nice day?" Aeka asked as she entered the living room with a basket of laundry.  
  
"Hello Aeka," Tenchi answered, prying his eyes away from Sasami. He stole one more glance back into the living room before asking the elder princess about the situation with the same confused tone.  
  
"I must admit; it is rather strange. I don't think it's dangerous, but maybe if he could recreate something less---^intense^, it wouldn't be so unnerving." Aeka answered thoughtfully as she sat down on the adjacent couch from the conductor.  
  
"Yeaaaaaah! That was fun Seita!" Sasami called out happily.  
  
"Please don't think of it as an invasive procedure your highness." Seita let his hands fall and sat up a little more to acknowledge any and all gathered about him. The sudden soft reverberations of his voice jerked their attentions.  
  
"Awww, is it over already?" Sasami moaned and slumped forward in disappointment.  
  
"Afraid so Sasami, Seita has to come with me now." Washu interjected as she emerged from her lab rubbing a rubber squeak from her gloves with an anxious smile.  
  
"Just one more, pleeeeeeease."  
  
"I'm sure you've had enough for today Sasami," Aeka announced with mild authority.  
  
"Fine." The youngest princess sighed her doe eyes in defeat.  
  
"If you'll be so kind as to step this way we can get started."  
  
Seita dissolved into a different pair of clothes as he stood to Washu's prompt, the illusion of a plain park uniform replaced by pure white drawstring pants and a loose shirt, crossing a monk and a hospital patient.  
  
The transformation gave Tenchi an urge to massage his brain as he still wasn't used to 'perception projections' in spite, or perhaps because of knowing what they were. He tried to blink hard enough as a cloth of blonde walked calmly behind a bush of red.  
  
"Uh, Little Washu-" Tenchi began an uncertain question.  
  
"Don't worry Tenchi, Seita's a big boy, and I already gave him time to feel welcome like you asked." Washu dismissed effortlessly as the closet door opened for them.  
  
"Hey Seita," Noboyuki called as he joined the crowd in the hallway. He carried a roll of paper and clubbed it into his palm for emphasis as he addressed the latest guinea pig.  
  
"Going into Little Washu's lab, huh? Don't let her prod you...too...much-"  
  
The blueprint intended to give Seita a playful poke in the stomach passed into him as easily as Ryoko's fist had. Noboyuki's words trailed off as he wiggled the thin tube about, waiting to feel something solid.  
  
"This, uh, doesn't ^hurt^, does it?" The architect balanced apologetically.  
  
"No Mr. Misaki, not at all," Seita replied looking down at the humble weapon, "as I explained, my time in that dimension accelerated my phasing capacity to the point that my body is always at attention, and at ease. Even the smallest amount of force directed towards me is instantly evaded."  
  
"I'll have to keep that in mind when I take my samples," Washu interjected thoughtfully.  
  
"Wow, it really must be sort of like being a ghost. So you can walk right through walls like Ryoko too, right?" Noboyuki continued.  
  
"It's really just a matter of detachment and inversion of atomic frequencies," Washu tried to cover and inundate any further questions, clearly growing impatient with the distraction.  
  
"Wish I could do that." Noboyuki chuckled quietly.  
  
"Oh, I bet you do, ya dirty old Peeping Tom!" A flash of green eyes brought the man of the house into a defensive blush.  
  
"Now wait, I didn't say-"  
  
"Mr. Misaki," Seita spoke up in his soft and relaxed tone, bringing his hands up again in the same meditative arch of fingers he'd made for Sasami's ride. "If you want to see what you must imagine you need only ask, such a perception is easy to create."  
  
Tenchi and his father both raised their eyebrows to the roof in equal shock, though one of them with considerably more excitement. Ryoko, Aeka, and Mihoshi starred wide-eyed at Sayta, then each other, then at the childish grin on Noboyuki's face. They opened their mouths and closed their eyes, but their screams were cut off by a sickly sound curdling in someone's throat. When the three faced the would-be voyeur again, his grin had been turned into a frown of pronounced disgust. His eyes wailed in revulsion and his skin was quickly turning pale. Even Washu was completely at a loss when Noboyuki clapped a hand over his mouth and fled to the bathroom with a nauseous groan.  
  
All eyes were on the projector as he lowered his hands with a disappointed sigh.  
  
"Hm, I guess you ladies probably don't have the bodies of obese old men."  
  
The implications sunk in quickly, prompting the girls to congratulate Seita in between bouts of vengeful giggling. Washu just folded her arms and shook her head with a small smirk. Tenchi searched the back of his neck for a disappear button.  
  
"That'll teach the old pervert!" Ryoko jeered.  
  
"Yes-yes, all very amusing. ^Now^ can we proceed?" Washu grumbled towards her lab impatiently. Seita followed with a lingering wrinkle of silent amusement.  
  
The door closed behind them to a small sigh of Tenchi's relief.  
  
*More than a week passed before this guy brought any drama to the house. I guess I should be happy by comparison...the look on dad's face was kind of funny.  
  
*And he's certainly been polite, and the house is spotless. So is he come to think of it. If I hadn't seen him sweat in the field with me the other day I'd swear he^ was^ a ghost. Hell, he only takes a little room and board, and it doesn't look like he's going to be causing any fights around here. Who am I to say if someone is strange?  
  
"I'm sorry Tenchi," Ryoko purred, bending towards the usual nervousness building in Tenchi's answer.  
  
"Sorry, s-s-sorry for what?"  
  
"I forgot to finish welcoming you home," she apologized playfully while pressing her face into his chest and wrapping her arms around his torso.  
  
"Ryoko, I'm sure Tenchi has had a long day and doesn't need any extra burdens. Could I help you with your books Lord Tenchi?" Aeka offered with her uncanny ability to invert a harsh tone into a sweet one.  
  
"Oh, uh," he chuckled, "I almost forgot that I dropped them outside when I heard Sasami."  
  
"Don't worry Tenchi, I'll get em for you." Ryoko floated back and smiled brightly before quickly phasing through the door.  
  
Aeka crossed her arms and grunted.  
  
"I'd hate to see how completely useless she'd be without those powers."  
  
"Hm, sometimes I wish you both were just normal girls," Tenchi mumbled.  
  
"I beg your pardon."  
  
"Oh---nothing."  
  
"Hey Aeka, hey Mihoshi! Could you give me a hand with something?" Sasami called from the kitchen.  
  
"Coming." A blur of blonde hair bounced on by.  
  
"Just a minute Sasami," Aeka replied and turned back promptly towards Tenchi. "I hope you had a nice day anyway Lord Tenchi, I'm sorry if Sasami frightened you. I'll ask her not to play those games with Seita anymore."  
  
"It's okay Aeka, I just wasn't expecting it. Maybe if it's so realistic I'll ask him for a ride myself."  
  
"A-A-As you wish Lord Tenchi." Aeka answered hesitantly and bowed out to the kitchen. He watched her exit and admired the way her hair spun when she made sudden movements.  
  
"Hey Tenchi, what are these things?" Ryoko phased next to him and held out a variety of colorful laminated flyers like a hand of cards. "They look kinda neat, especially this one." She dropped all but one.  
  
"Oh, those. People are always passing out flyers at the campus. It's probably for some new club or restaurant." Tenchi explained with a sigh, bending to pick up and properly dispose of Ryoko's rejects.  
  
"Fire-storm enter-tainment presents: Mon-u-men-tal. Mind blow-ing music by Japan's fresh-est DJ's." Ryoko tried to hide her developing reading skills, but still held it out to Tenchi for further explanation.  
  
"Sounds like a rave," he answered with a slightly critical tone, taking the flyer unceremoniously from her hands.  
  
Bright colors and excessively rounded letters stretched around an oversized robot, further disproportioned by baggy clothing and a surreally brimmed baseball cap. Its face was featureless, save for an imposing triangular window pouring green light onto a pair of turntables. Each record bent up at the sides from the weight of warlike chrome hands. Clearly anyone who didn't attend this party would be crushed or vaporized by this juggernaut of youth advertising.  
  
"What's a rave?"  
  
Ryoko's curious expression reminded him of when he had tricked her into looking at an imaginary something out the window while he tried to escape. A twinge of melancholic regret brought a soft smile to his face. He decided on a simple answer but to try not to condescend her.  
  
"People who make dance music all get together and put on a show with a bunch of colored lights and that sort of thing. They can get pretty crowded and wild and..." Towards the end of his explanation, Tenchi began to notice the growing gleam in Ryoko's eyes and trailed off, he realized, far too late.  
  
"Wow! That sounds like fun!" She breathed excitedly and snatched the flyer back to pour over it with spreading hoards of gold.  
  
Tenchi gulped, now painfully aware of the direction the conversation was heading. He had to make it up to her for going (or at least attempting to go) with Aeka to Jurai, but the idea of Ryoko at a rave made him hunger for a nice quiet picnic.  
  
"Well, uh, actually they're kinda loud and crowded and-"  
  
"Have you ever been to one, Tenchi?"  
  
"A rave? Well, uh, no actually but I hear-"  
  
"Then how do you know were wouldn't have any fun?" Ryoko put her fists on her hips and smiled cleverly.  
  
"We-" he fought to not be drawn into any accidental commitment.  
  
"Come on Tenchi, if you can go into the depths of space with that princess I think you can go to one little dance with me."  
  
"But-" he began to weaken.  
  
"Please," her interruption came sweetly as she bowed slightly without taking her eyes off him.  
  
Tenchi saw the hopeful expression on her face and froze. The way her chin, cheeks and almost elfin ears curved into each other was sleek and alluring even when she was practically begging. The sharp points at the ends of her eyes gave a perfect contrast to the slight trembling of her lips. He wondered how anything could look so simultaneously pitiful and gorgeous, thus his capacity to deny her anything slipped away on a defeated sigh.  
  
"Where is it going to be?  
  
Ryoko's cry of delighted triumph brought Aeka and Sasami back out of the kitchen. She had wrapped her arms lovingly around Tenchi's stomach and was nuzzling his chest, apparently unaware that she had floated them up a meter into the air.  
  
"Okay, okay! Please Ryoko, you can put me down now!" He tried not to free himself too quickly, memories of accidental rear end bruises still fresh in his mind. To his surprise, Ryoko stopped her giggling, put him back on his feet, and passively stepped back.  
  
"Sorry," she offered shyly.  
  
"It's okay Ryoko," he caught his breath with surprised ease, "just no flying next time."  
  
"If you say so Tenchi," she purred up again. Her arms curled gently around him as she smiling deviously over his shoulder towards the kitchen.  
  
Aeka squeezed every last drop of water from her washcloth.  
  
***  
  
"This is absolutely delicious Sasami," Mihoshi called with another shameless reach towards the shrimp special.  
  
"Yes, quite impressive," Aeka added, taking care to take her time.  
  
"Here, here." Tenchi raised his chopsticks in a second motion.  
  
"Mmifriliegoot," Ryoko mumbled through a mouth-full of rice.  
  
"I guess it goes without saying," Washu chimed with a clever wink at her daughter.  
  
When the compliments came round to Seita he was starring deep into his dish, chopsticks flag-polling a succulent morsel. Anticipant silence filled the dinning room for a few moments before he looked up and out-did them all.  
  
"I don't think I've ever eaten this well in my entire life. You have an amazing gift Sasami."  
  
His voice wavered with suppressed emotion, and he smiled at the young princess as if beholding some fantastic part of creation denied to him during a long prison sentence. As Yosho quietly watched the scene, he recalled that the new guest had regarded a number of things this way.  
  
"Oh you guys, it's okay I gu-^ess^," Sasami cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed by the sudden pubescent crack in her voice. Yosho looked away from Seita and smiled a light tease.  
  
"Looks like your culinary skills aren't all that's growing around here."  
  
"Don't be embarrassed, this is a very special time in your life Sasami," Aeka spoke up supportively.  
  
"If you say so, I thought after I took the water on Jurai everything would just change at once and be over with." Sasami's complaint fell softly onto her plate, but she quickly perked a little and stared out at memories of family pride, splendor, and the adrenaline rush of a sacred ritual. "The ceremony was really fun, though."  
  
"I bet its nothing compared to what Tenchi and I are going to. Ain't that right Tenchi?!" Ryoko raised a fist in triumph and wrapped an arm around Japan's newest life of the dance party.  
  
"I don't know, Ryoko."  
  
"Come on Tenchi. If this guy's gonna be there it has to be huge." Ryoko proudly displayed the flyer to everyone at the table.  
  
"Uh, Ryoko, I don't think-"  
  
"Really," Seita raised an eyebrow, "when are you two going?"  
  
"It's this Saturday, you'd probably get a kick out of it---if you don't mind being the third wheel." Ryoko winked at him confidently.  
  
Seita looked at Tenchi, who was distracted in anticipation of Aeka's wrath. He smiled ever so slightly and looked over at Mihoshi.  
  
"I'd like to Ryoko, but I already asked officer Mihoshi to show me her patrol territory." A well-tanned smile struggled over the officer's modesty. Ryoko took one look between the two, smiled devilishly, and clicked her tongue with a mock scold.  
  
"So Mihoshi, trying to get a man alone with you on your space ship? That doesn't always work you know, does it, Aeka?"  
  
"Just what are you implying!" Aeka slammed her palms onto the table and nearly stood to meet her rival's clever glance.  
  
"Oh nothing," Ryoko put her hands up innocently, "you can taxi Tenchi around all you want, just so long as he keeps taking ^me^ to dances."  
  
Sasami, unconcerned about the battle for once, sighed to herself as the role of diplomat feel to Tenchi. Yosho looked down at her with concern as his grandson tried to release their sister's steam.  
  
"We only get used to a change in time enough to greet another." Yosho sagely voice slid in beneath the growing squabble. Sasami broke her trance of self-pity and smiled up at him.  
  
"I'll second that." Seita raised his tea to the grandfather his smiled reflected in the politely searching spectacles.  
  
When Yosho had heard that the new guest was helping Tenchi in the vegetable field, he'd actually been rather doubtful. Not that the priest ever considered himself judgmental, but physical labor was certainly not the first thing that came to mind when looking at the slender man in luxurious clothing. He'd noticed a number of times since their first introductions that this new guest moved about the Misaki home almost in a dream, still intent on absorbing every detail of his surroundings into his confident smile and intense gaze. Art, and perhaps priesthood had seemed more suited to him than science, much less farming. But the First Prince of Jurai could and would admit to being pleasantly surprised, if asked.  
  
Seita swung a hoe with almost youthful abandon, seeming to enjoy the exercise the way full time farmers wished they could. By some miracle he had managed to do a more thorough job cleaning the windows single handedly than an entire household team. As far as houseguests went, this man was surely a model example, but thoughts of when he would move on brought a pause that Yosho hadn't been able to think through yet.  
  
Something about the man's abilities, not to mention experiences, made him want to simultaneously meditate with him and test his composure behind a sword. Surely Washu's analysis would reveal something. The official elder watched her stirring her food and wondered if she could sense any or all of his interests.  
  
"By the way, Mr. Misaki." All attentions went to the tall formality again.  
  
"Uh, yes Sayta." Noboyuki, looked up from his meal with a touch of nervousness.  
  
"I sincerely apologize for the chicanery earlier this afternoon. A gracious host such as yourself deserves better thanks than cheap tricks." He bowed slightly.  
  
"W-w-what do you mean? I, uh, something I ate just disagreed with me today. Probably should avoid the office cafeteria for a while."  
  
Noboyuki was a terrible liar. There were some concealed feminine giggles from around the table, the only slightly less embarrassed son hung his head with the usual sigh.  
  
Eating resumed, and Tenchi found himself consumed with curiosity over what Washu's tests may have revealed about the new guest. Although such questions were almost morbid from his point of view, the new guinea pig had strangely emerged from the lab wearing the same serene and confident expression he'd entered with. Seita had explained himself thoroughly once, but Tenchi found himself eyeing Washu for more answers just the same, and soon found his grandfather doing the same.  
  
"I understand that these...^gifts^, might seem strange, even unnerving to you all. Though my explanation of them must have sounded akin to some form of mind control, please don't think of my illusions as an invasive procedure."  
  
Possible clairvoyance almost aside, this complete request to replace pity with understanding managed to raise and trap Yosho's attention along side his grandson's.  
  
"As Professor Hakube will surely confirm when her analysis is complete, there is relatively little I can do to harm any of you. My time in that dimension, and my ability to travel with it have made my body somewhat--- 'ethereal' in nature, but let me assure you all that I've no desire to pick fights, or invade anyone's privacy."  
  
Washu had looked up at the mention of her name. More than a few people noticed her focus as she brought up a holo-screen.  
  
"I believe that the more I find out about you, dear boy, the more I'm going to want to know. I hope Tenchi doesn't mind you staying around for a little while longer." She spoke at a blinking icon as if everyone were gathered on it.  
  
"No, of course not. You've been good, to have around I mean." Tenchi confirmed and convinced himself honestly.  
  
"Thank you, everyone. You know, I've considered making a promise to myself, to only use my 'tricks' for the enjoyment of friends. My dry sense of humor is simply the best way I know to show affection." Seita continued with a sly for a dry smile.  
  
"When I said that I could not control your actions, that I could only give suggestions to your perceptions---" he noticed and quickly enjoyed the rhyme in his words, "I neglected to mention a sort of middle ground that I came across quite by accident."  
  
A few curious glances exchanged and collected as colorful fingertips came together in the same focused position he'd used during his vacation with Sasami.  
  
"Involuntary functions, it seems, are influenced by a system similar and perhaps parallel to the one controlling perception. I admit that this takes a good deal more focus, but it is as close to 'mind control' as I'm ever likely to achieve. Rest assured these afterthoughts are all the physical influence I have." He closed his eyes and smiled a little wider.  
  
"What are you-ah--ah--- ^achoo^!" Mihoshi barely managed to get a hand over her sneeze.  
  
"Gesuntite," Tenchi offered before sending a loud and clear mist onto his plate. Washu picked up the hint long before anyone else, and smirked at the de-sterilization of it all.  
  
"Sorry Seita, my sinuses have already been engineered to -hic-, to resist -hic-" The clearly annoyed scientist scowled and took a long sip of water. Her next hiccup came even louder and accidentally dissipated her computer.  
  
"Hey, wish I could do that!" Ryoko cheered. "Don't worry Washu, I could hold a paper bag over your face---or maybe you could just stand on your head for a while."  
  
"That's -hic- Little -hic- Washu -hic- to you." She failed intimidation as she reached desperately for the water pitcher.  
  
"Maybe I should just jump up and scare yoUUUuuuUUU!" Ryoko's belch took over her speech and the rest of the sounds at the table completely, a hearty giggle had already started by the time it finished.  
  
"Wow Sasami, that really ^was^ a good dinner."  
  
"You are a disgusting creature Ryoko," Aeka fumed, "how Tenchi could bare to take you anywhere is beyond me!"  
  
"Thanks Ryok-OOOOOOooohhhHHHHHH!!!" Sasami was understandably shocked by the crushing death of a hapless bullfrog in her throat, but she and Ryoko thoroughly laughed it off.  
  
"Mr. Seita, that is enough!" Aeka commanded, rising to her feet. "I will not have you turning this household into a gang of crass brutes!"  
  
Tenchi kept a hand over his mouth to suppress a giggle of his own and turned a pleading, yet still amused expression to the jester in question.  
  
"As you wish, Princess Aeka," Seita agreed calmly. "Apologies, bodily functions were always a cause for great amusement at the home I remember. But I assure you; there will be no more belching due to my influence."  
  
"Good." Aeka closed her eyes to regain a breath of composure, just as she was about to sit down again they grew wide with a strange sort of horror.  
  
Everything went all but deadly silent. The First Princess of Jurai remained completely frozen, releasing her flatulence with rich and forceful reverberation. 


	4. Verse Four is Recreation Part 1&2

---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person an extra review.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
Be sure to stretch before and after all physically strenuous activity.  
  
  
  
^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^  
  
-Verse Four-  
  
  
  
Recreation (Part 1)  
  
  
  
Injured plea.  
  
Crushed destiny.  
  
Deep down-trauma hounds---run to corrode---integrity.  
  
Whatever matters and it would---they fail to see.  
  
They make believe-reality.  
  
Helpless deaths ignored-to be judged as juvenile.  
  
Head caves in--growing pains--no time remains--for fantasy.  
  
*Excerpt*  
  
-Skinny Puppy (deep down TRAUMA HOUNDS)  
  
  
  
Yukinojo was a practical model by galaxy police standards, but thanks to Washu's expert (not to mention frequent) maintenance it looked clean and important enough to be launched with a bottle of champagne. The new passenger remembered the old mechanic's eyes getting bubbly before she swallowed the sidetrack of amazing modifications she could still make. He'd smiled then at the luck-wink she'd left him with and was still smiling up at the ship through its shadow.  
  
"Okay Mr. Seita, I'll be ready to transport you aboard in about ten more minutes." Mihoshi's voice came over the intercom with a slight hurry and the sound of something collapsing in the background.  
  
"No need Mihoshi." He casually opened and entered a colorless portal.  
  
Only one freezing draft spread through the ship's captain in less than a second, but the sensation still made her short of breath and weak of knee enough to drop a bundle of dirty clothes onto a stack of crinkled magazines. Mihoshi shivered and slouched with a pitiful whine. Seita watched unnoticed as she tried to reorganize the different categories of rubbish. The pristine silver curves of the ship's hull were a credit to Washu's ability, but while willing to be Mihoshi's mechanic she apparently refused to be her maid.  
  
He barely stifled a giggle to look around the cockpit turned wasteland of discard and disorder and other stuff. When Mihoshi turned and noticed her passenger she dropped her bundle of clothes again, this time in an artless heap at her feet.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Seita! So that's where the draft came from---not that you're cold or anything! I mean that dimension you can travel through is, but you're not and I, uh-" Mihoshi babbled, hopping he could forgive and she could forget the feeling his portals brought with them when they brought him.  
  
"Don't worry Mihoshi, I understand." He lowered his head apologetically. "Sorry, I guess I should have given you clearer warning that I was coming up on my own."  
  
"It's okay, just---this place is a bit of a mess and wanted I to-" Mihoshi blushed as she tried to gather her laundry again.  
  
"Don't be embarrassed, I've certainly seen grander examples of chaos." He reassured then reassured again before Mihoshi could tell if he was smiling at a private joke. "At least you seem to have some organization."  
  
Earth's galactic peace officer looked around at the similar piles of debris, imagining her ship as some kind of recycling center. She felt the urge to nervously twiddle her fingers but was determined not to drop the laundry this time; Seita was still looking at her softly. His blonde hair and blue eyes reminded him slightly of her own, but the consistency of his skin, and the shape of his lips---Mihoshi dreamed a grin and titled her head slightly.  
  
"I'd be happy to help if I can."  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry, I-uh," Mihoshi tried to calm herself with a deep breath, but made a sour face at the close proximity of her soiled clothing.  
  
"Is something wrong Mihoshi?"  
  
"No -cough- nothing's wrong. It's nice of you to offer to help, uh-" Mihoshi looked around anxiously. "Those two piles on the right are just trash, there are some bags here by my foot," she kicked forward a small white box, "they both just go in the incinerator, it's, um."  
  
"Marked by the flashing green light sir." A binocular pair of eyes lowered between them and spoke up helpfully.  
  
"Thanks Yukinojo," The ship's captain sighed and tried to return her passenger's smile as he contentedly helped to make the ship more presentable than she could remember it.  
  
---  
  
After focusing so hard on exiting Earth's orbit properly Mihoshi fogged up a few monitors with a breath of relief. She noticed Seita's silence and let herself relax into a gaze of him watching the earth grow smaller.  
  
*Sure wish the partners they try to stick me would be as patient as this guy. Funny, he just kept staring out the window, never made sure I followed all the procedures, never made me feel all stupid for having a messy ship. He may be a little odd---but it's not really a bad odd.  
  
*I can't imagine what it must've been like to go through all that horrible stuff with Kagato; maybe him and Ryoko will be able to talk about it. I wonder if ^he^ thinks she's prettier than I am... I wonder what he's thinking right now.  
  
"How long have you been with the GP, Mihoshi?" Seita made conversation without taking his eyes off the passing moon. Mihoshi blinked quick, hid her twiddling fingers quicker, and answered brightly.  
  
"Hm, well right after I got out of school I entered the academy, and I've been with the Galaxy Police ever since."  
  
"What rank are you, if you don't mind me asking," he continued, looking over and making her look down.  
  
"Well, I'm a detective really, but I asked to patrol this solar system to be closer to Tenchi---and-and everyone else of course! Yeah, uh, I feel really at home there for some reason."  
  
"So you basically patrol the planets around this sun?"  
  
"Yeah, this system's sort of far from everything so it can get really boring out here."  
  
"But police work can still be pretty dangerous though, right?" He searched with a flattering, expectant grin.  
  
"Well, uh," Mihoshi mumbled shyly, "technically I'm not allowed to bring civilians on patrol, but after seeing how Ryoko's fist went through you I guess you can take care of yourself, huh?"  
  
Seita watched his hand grip and release his knee in a near squirming motion. He closed his eyes, and shared a shy smile of his own.  
  
"I've been looking out for myself for a very long time, but it's still nice to have someone covering you."  
  
When he looked up at her again she was apple cheeked, practically sweating, and trying to look anywhere but his direction.  
  
*That was NOT what it sounded like! That was NOT what it sounded like! That was NOT what it sounded like! Pay attention to the ship Mihoshi, just watch where you're going. Deep breath, deep breath---nice cologne.  
  
*DAMMIT! Okay, get a grip, look at that nail polish, that sapphire shirt; he probably doesn't even like girls...but it does make him kind of--- interesting..  
  
*Arragh! New thoughts-new thoughts. Tell him a police adventure or something.  
  
"Well, one time this scientist was out around the seventh planet, he went out of his ship to collect an asteroid sample and kinda got locked out. Funny huh? Well Officer Mihoshi was on the job, helped the man get back into his ship and-" Her anxious story along with her vivid hand gestures all ground to a halt at the sight of Seita's slightly confused expression. She deflated with a sigh.  
  
"I guess that's not a very exciting story is it? I'm sorry Mr. Seita. That was a week ago, and it was the most exciting thing for months."  
  
"Just 'Seita' is fine."  
  
"Sorry, S-Seita." She grimaced at the pathetic lump rising in her throat and finished in a small voice. "After I show you all the planets in this system there probably won't be anything to do till we go home for dinner."  
  
"Don't worry, I have something that could keep us busy." Seita tried to cheer her up kindly. Mihoshi's head just could not get out of the gutter today, her eyes bulged and she forcefully banished another thought beneath a heavier blush.  
  
The tall man rose quickly but didn't bump his head on a thing. He brought back a well-sterilized yet obviously well-used food tray and set it down between them almost ceremoniously. Mihoshi's showed no grasp of a trace of a clue, but smiled nervously as her passenger brought his fingertips together. A moment passed and a small, checkered pattern began to appear on the plain surface, Jurian chess pieces emerged into place as if breaking through a thin film.  
  
"Wow, that was neat!" Mihoshi's mood brightened instantly, then sank just as fast. "I'm afraid I'm not very good at this game though."  
  
"That's okay; I barely remember how to play." His charming voice continued to reassure her so easily she almost couldn't tell that he was critiquing himself.  
  
The pieces felt surprisingly real in her hands, but even after getting used to that she took her time with the first move. Seita's whites moved toward her blacks of their own accord, and after likewise lengthy pauses.  
  
"So, how do you think Tenchi and Ryoko are doing?" Mihoshi tried to break the stretch of silence that had begun with the game.  
  
"I don't think their event starts till later this evening."  
  
"Oh. What did Tenchi call it, a 'raise'?"  
  
"Hmm." Sayta considered the question and the game at once, taking his chin off his hand to wave his fingers in a shrugging gesture. "Something like that."  
  
---  
  
"Come on Sasami, we've only got six hours till this thing starts." A shock of cyan paced impatiently behind a pair of long pigtails jutting out above a large bag on the floor.  
  
"Ryoko, that's plenty of time." Sasami argued amid the noise of random objects being shuffled about.  
  
"Yeah, but Tenchi said it might take a while to get there, and I want to be ready when he gets home so he wont even ^think^ about backing out."  
  
"Found em!"  
  
Sasami rose triumphantly, holding two bracelets and a large necklace she'd won at a county fair. The elastic bands nearly stretched beneath the bulk of star-shaped beads, supposedly the varieties of floresant plastic all glowed in the dark. Ryoko looked the trinkets up and down, uncertain of her booty's value for the first time, but she eventually shrugged and added them to the rest of her outfit.  
  
"Well, how do I look?" Earth's newest raver spread her arms out with a hopeful grin. Sasami bit her lip against a giggle.  
  
They had borrowed a pair of large blue jeans from Noboyuki's closet and the largest work boots they could find, luckily small feet were in Tenchi's family, luckily Sasami had only suggested the inverse as a joke. Ryoko borrowed a bright orange T-shirt from her fashion consultant that left little to the imagination; a hapless chibi character stretched across her chest in almost medieval torment. They'd 'rented' some thick goggles with blue lenses from Washu's lab that made smiles and hair all seem bigger and definitely completed the cartoonish jewelry.  
  
"Be honest Sasami." Ryoko stared at her uneasy young friend sternly.  
  
"You, uh, look like that girl we saw on the Internet anyway." Sasami answered with a hurried nod.  
  
"Ah-hem," Ryoko put a fist on her hip.  
  
"I mean ^better^! Better, of course."  
  
Ryoko looked toward the mirror and spread a hand through her hair, turning up its flamboyant volume.  
  
"Damn right."  
  
---  
  
"Hello, I'm home!" Tenchi called as he set his school supplies down on the couch.  
  
"Welcome home, Lord Tenchi." Aeka answered sweetly, tea set ready. "I've made some tea, would you care to have some with me?"  
  
"Sure Aeka I-"  
  
"Hey, Tenchi!" Ryoko phased through the ceiling and landed gracefully in the living room, putting a hand on her hip and jutting it out towards him. "You ready for our date?"  
  
Tenchi's jaw dropped. Was she going to be a space pirate again, or was she going to be a clown? His dad probably wouldn't mind her borrowing those pants, and the little T-shirt looked kinda...nice. It could be worse, he told himself, but what if she wanted ^him^ to dress the same way? He tried to stay calm and answer politely, but a critical remark somehow snuck through.  
  
"Wow, the clothes you were wearing when I met you suddenly don't seem so strange." He winced and cursed himself for not giving his usual passive response, there'd be hell to pay any moment now.  
  
"Tenchi-" Ryoko responded softly, looking down and pulling slightly on the end of her shirt.  
  
"I ^am^ an idiot, a ^dead^ idiot." Tenchi said too quietly to be heard.  
  
"You really remembered what I was wearing then, that's so sweet!" Deep affection filled her eyes and she floated forward for a hug. Her date hugged her back with a sigh of relief.  
  
"He means you look ridiculous Ryoko!" Aeka shouted angrily. "Are you really so determined to embarrass poor Lord Tenchi at every chance you get. It's bad enough he has to take you out looking the way you do, but did you have to make him go to some crazy party for hooligans!"  
  
Tenchi felt the all too familiar fear in his belly as Ryoko stepped away from him, a shadow of overhanging hair darkening her face. She responded with deadpan wrath without even looking up.  
  
"Speaking of embarrassing..." Ryoko raised her palms gracefully and pressed them against her lips. Aeka blinked confusion and Tenchi felt the urge to run for cover as oversized pants sagged a little more from the ominous inflation of Ryoko's lungs. A wet rubber machine gun opened fire across the living room.  
  
When finally out of ammo, Ryoko looked up at the princess with a truly demonic expression. The crockery on Aeka's tea tray began to rattle. Tenchi prepared to see steam pour out of her ears as her cheeks nearly ballooned to prevent an immanent explosion. To his surprise, Ryoko lost her cool first in a bent over, tear soaked fit.  
  
"You SHUT UP!" Aeka bellowed. "That was Sayta's doing, a princess would never-never-"  
  
"Break wind---pass gas!" Ryoko filled in the blanks between bursts of now painful amusement.  
  
"He MADE ME DO IT! I have more self control than-"  
  
"Ri-i-ight, why don't you just blame it on ^Ryo-ohkiiiiiii!^" The jerking, jeering response brought a fresh shipment of hysterics, finally dragging Ryoko to her knees.  
  
"Ryoko, please." Tenchi pleaded weakly.  
  
She eventually floored herself, but the thump of her collapse was barely audible above the howls and cackles leading to the inevitable silent convulsions that come when noise just isn't enough.  
  
Tenchi had hid his face in his hands that night at the dinner table while Ryoko almost pummeled the table into splinters. He'd been silent till at last she passed out from exhaustion, but for some reason now, he felt a cracking in his throat. Something about Ryoko's last tasteless quip got to him, it was just so perfectly---cheesy. The impartial judge was hardly able to cement his hand over his mouth in time. Luckily Aeka had already retreated to the kitchen before she could hear the nasal choke of his suppressed laughter.  
  
*** Sasami scurried back and forth along the kitchen counter, alternately checking on two different parts of the evening meal. Despite the self- imposed stress, she maintained a smile and a hum slightly lower and more rhythmic than the one she used before drinking from The Great Tree. Aeka couldn't help but noticed the small change as only family could, and let some of her frustration with Ryoko settle.  
  
"That's a very lovely tune Sasami, it's a shame there aren't any musical instruments here, I'm sure you could bring some pleasant melodies to the house."  
  
The head chef stopped her chopping and whirled around at her sister, Aeka only smiled and threw another pealed sprout into her bowl.  
  
"Really!?" Sasami asked with an anxious twinkle in her eye.  
  
"Really, helping you prepare dinner is always nicer when you make music."  
  
"Oh, I'm not really-" she blushed and returned to the task at hand.  
  
"I know mother and father were always a little disappointed that you didn't show any interest in music on Jurai. I think now that you're ready to sit still for more than a few minutes you might enjoy taking lessons here." Aeka smiled with a lighthearted tease and an obvious encouragement.  
  
"I don't know Aeka, what if I just make a lot of noise?" She worried her voice younger.  
  
Aeka's face darkened slightly and she looked back down at the sprouts, breaking them with a little more force.  
  
"I'm sure it couldn't be any worse than what we already endure with Ryoko."  
  
"Oh Aeka," Sasami sighed, forgot her own troubles, and faced her sister again, "why can't you and her just learn to get along. There's really no reason to fight all the time."  
  
A brooding silence swept out as Sasami finished one task and began drying her hands.  
  
"Haven't you been paying attention to ^anything^! We have plenty of reason to-" the sudden explosion would have startled anyone, and Aeka barely caught herself as her sister dropped the dishtowel.  
  
"I'm-I'm sorry Sasami," she began again in an embarrassed hush, "perhaps when you are older you will understand the ways of a woman's heart...and you just don't know Ryoko as I do."  
  
Sasami began to speak, but drained her eyes and closed her mouth. They finished preparing dinner in silence.  
  
***  
  
Ryoko was in such a hurry to get them out of the house as soon as possible that she seemed two steps from force-feeding Tenchi his early dinner. She almost whittled away her chopsticks in the time it took him to scoop in the last of his fish.  
  
Tenchi looked over at the new guest as he discussed some of the food he remembered from other worlds, and tried his best to complement Aeka's contribution to the meal. Though still being short with him, she was being visibly worn down by his ability to be excessively polite in a way that almost mirrored her.  
  
Washu had been strangely absent since the night of Sayta's parlor tricks and was taking more time than he'd expected to analyze the tests she'd done the other night. Tenchi shuddered at the possible inventions she might be able to apply the new powers to. He looked up at Ryoko again, and to his surprise she wasn't staring at him. Instead, her eyes were boring holes into the single morsel left on his plate.  
  
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he lifted the last bite of food into his mouth; his dad lifting his van keys out of his pocket, Mihoshi feeding something to Seita, Aeka frowning at Ryoko as she leaned forward to watch his jaw as it chewed. The sound of his hesitant swallow was like a track gun as his date lunged, grabbed him in one hand, the keys in the other, and dashed through the door.  
  
"RYOKOOOOOO!"  
  
"Have a nice time!" Everyone save Aeka called out as Tenchi's desperate scream faded into the distance.  
  
***  
  
"C'mon, can't we fly over these slugs!" Ryoko experimented with the radio buttons impatiently, creating a bizarre mix of abrasive static and even more cacophonous hip-pop. Tenchi leaned over and turned it off.  
  
"Sorry Ryoko, but we're just going to have to be patient, this thing lasts almost all night anyway."  
  
"Really?!" She asked expectantly. "Is that why you took a nap before dinner?" Her hand slapped the question closed a little too late.  
  
"Huh, how did you know I-"  
  
He took his eyes off the traffic jam in front of him and glanced over. Ryoko hung her head guiltily over forearms pressed straight into her lap. She was chewing on her lips, apparently anticipating some kind of reprimand. Tenchi sighed and checked again to make sure that every car in Japan was still in front of them, when he looked back Ryoko's posture had become even more timid.  
  
Every time that he had woken to find her watching over him he'd been very cross and practically ordered her never to do it again. The almost monstrously exhausted face he awoke to after the battle with Kagato gave him a quick shiver, but as he looked over at his passenger again the image changed. Instead of a frightful wakeup call, he instead envisioned a time he'd passed by Ryoko when she was sleeping peacefully on the couch. Her mouth hung open slightly and her long fingers curled out along side it like a gentle dragon. The sharp explosion of hair swayed more like a prairie in the breeze with each breath. A soft smile crept across his face and he bent slightly it in his date's direction to be sure she would hear.  
  
"Ah well, probably a good thing to have someone to check on me anyway," he said in an almost carefree voice.  
  
"Really?" Ryoko looked up with a series of surprised blinks.  
  
"Yeah, uh, you never know when I might forget to set my alarm or something," Tenchi continued in his usual nervous tone.  
  
Ryoko prepared something clever, but let her smile relax and leaned back into the seat with her hands behind her head. She closed her eyes and thought of different ways to rouse a body from sleep, the subsequent fantasies kept her mind occupied till at last Tenchi arrived at what was obviously the event. He checked the address on the flyer all the same.  
  
The building's official purpose was likely to host car shows or business conventions; its design was simple, almost minimalist. While Tenchi waited for the disinterested parking director to wave them in, he tried to envision how to make the building look more professional than a warehouse. The mob of young people spilling out the doors made it hard to choose the proper geometric themes and for a moment he gave up and shook his head. He was thinking like his dad, and if he wasn't careful he'd end up ogling the scantly clad girls in the crowd.  
  
Many of the people had assembled outfits similar to the one's Ryoko had almost made them wear, he thanked his ancestors again that he'd been able to convince her that there was no dress code. She'd changed into a short skirt and tight long sleeve blouse, the elegant red and black combination made him remember the day he'd left with Aeka.  
  
*I wonder if she planned it that way? No safe way to find out, really. I still can't believe I agreed to take her to this thing, but I guess I should be thankful that it's a public place. The atmosphere sure isn't romantic, she'll get bored soon enough and everyone will be on equal terms again. I haven't danced since Jr. high, but it'll probably be too crowded to notice. At least I'm not the only one here who was comfortable with jeans and a T-shirt.  
  
They pulled into their parking space and Ryoko pried her face off the window to shower Tenchi with eyes full of excitement. She alternately held places in the van to feel the vibration of the bass as they parked only a few blocks from the ear-shattering fun that awaited them.  
  
"Wow, Tenchi, that music sounds so cool!" Ryoko beamed as her date walked out and around to her side.  
  
"Sure seems loud enough," Tenchi grumbled as he opened Ryoko's door courteously. She floated delicately out of her seat.  
  
"Ryoko!" he gasped, taking hold of her shoulders and holding her firmly to the ground.  
  
"Geeze Tenchi," Ryoko began teasingly, after the shock of the initial contact faded into affection, "lighten up will ya."  
  
"Ryoko, please, try to remember to act like a ^normal^ person. You can't fly, you can't teleport, you can't go through walls, and you ^definitely^ can't shoot fire balls!"  
  
"Okay! Okay!" Ryoko matched his urgent whisper.  
  
"Good." Tenchi relaxed a little.  
  
"But I can still do this," Ryoko said brightly, and patted her head while rubbing her belly. The innocent smile accompanying such a ridiculous gesture made Tenchi shake his head at the ground with a helpless laugh.  
  
"Seeeeeee, I told you we were going to have fun." Ryoko cheered, hooking her arm around his and dragging them to the entrance. The crunch of their steps in the dirt lot intermingled with halfhearted pleas to slow down.  
  
The party inside ^felt^ as much as it sounded like a fierce beast threatening to burst out of its cage at any moment. A roar of pounding music poured over them every time someone walked out for some cancer or went back inside for some deafness. Tenchi hesitated at the sight of the two guards patting down the partiers. The overweight man shifted back and forth with the same boredom as the lot attendants, chewing idly on what Tenchi hoped was gum. His female companion had clearly taken her training more seriously and kept her arms crossed officially behind her back when she wasn't patting down the next potentially armed and dangerous teenage girl.  
  
"Okay Ryoko, just do as these people ask. They're not trying to hurt us, they just need to make sure we're not bringing in any weapons."  
  
"That girl isn't going to touch you, is she?" Ryoko growled.  
  
"No Ryoko, he searches me and she searches you." Tenchi explained as clearly as he could.  
  
"Alright," Ryoko mumbled her suspicion in the female guard's direction.  
  
"Now," Tenchi began again after the search went blessedly without incident, "this place is going to be pretty crowded and people are going to be moving around a lot. If someone bumps into you it'll be an accident so just say excuse and everything will be okay."  
  
"You worry too much Tenchi. We'll be having too much fun to notice anyone else, no matter how many people are in there!" Ryoko brought up a fist with a confident smile. Before Tenchi could think of any other warnings she'd hauled him onward to the ticket booth. The ticket taker made no attempt to hide his up, and mostly down stare at Ryoko. Tenchi only rolled his eyes.  
  
"HA! Sorry bub, I'm spoken for."  
  
She sneered mercilessly and snatched the tickets and her date in final triumph. With another almost giddy smile in she eased his hand into hers and used her other to press on the large vertical bar of the double auditorium doors. The most colorful and noisy sauna in the universe welcomed them with a bouncing sea of arms and heads.  
  
There were scattered patches of space not yet occupied by dancers and Ryoko led him to the closest one. She turned in a circle, arms and eyes open wide, less like a child in a candy store and more like a child in a candy factory. Tenchi began to laugh off his nervousness as the whole spectacle became less intimidating and more entertaining.  
  
He tried to appreciate the simplicity of the music with its drums a like a choreographed bokken battle and its bass like huge balloons filled with molasses slamming onto a gymnasium floor. The melody, if there really was one, seemed drowned out by the two dominating rhythms. When the music began to change Tenchi grimaced thankfully, but his relief soon turned into almost surreal annoyance.  
  
Over-electrified guitars and computer tones churned out a continuous bubbly melody that seemed to make the dancers, particularly the girls, bounce their heads a little more. The vocal chorus whistled up and almost made him run from the building, sung at a fast pace by what could only have been a robotic chipmunk. He thought of Ryo-ohki to turn the ridiculous song into a joke, but ended up picturing a shiny metal rodent shaking an acorn tambourine around its swollen chemical pink eyes.  
  
Ryoko laughed heartily into her hand and Tenchi laughed along with her, thankful that someone shared his impression. In a single movement she crossed the distance between them and spoke in almost a yell and almost too softly for him to hear.  
  
"I didn't know Aeka had her own album!"  
  
Tenchi stared at her in shock, but laughed again all the same at the memory of how Aeka had spoken to her mother on a number of occasions. Just as they were on the verge of dancing out of pure absurdity, the next DJ announced himself with a name that sounded German from what Tenchi knew of European languages.  
  
As he set up his equipment his warm up tune ignited the crowd with even more energy, clearly the next man up had already made a name for himself as the majority of the crowd called out to him in praise. The rhythm was undeniably catchy, and little by little Tenchi began to feel dissatisfied with just bobbing his head and tapping his feet.  
  
He'd never even been to a school dance, but there were so many people, particularly Ryoko, who seemed happy to be just move as their own hearts dictated. In fact, even those who weren't dancing showed no interest in pointing out a newcomer's inadequacy. He hadn't received so many smiles for incidental eye contact since he was a small child. When a surprisingly complex arrangement of beats came up he made up his mind that this strangely positive environment was the perfect place to see if he didn't have a taste for dancing after all.  
  
His first moves were only a tentative imitation of the guys around him. He anticipated a catcall from Ryoko at any minute, but when he looked over he noticed that she had taken exactly the same approach. This may have been her first time at such a thing, but she certainly seemed to be executing a certain hand movement better than the girl behind her, of course her smile was also noticeably larger.  
  
The lights darkened a little more and the projection screens skillfully endorsed the new DJ's logo in icy blue and white. Tenchi figured he must have already made a name for himself when the crowd gave him a rock star's cheer. The music began in a comparatively gentle ambiance, the beat wasn't exactly slow, but it moved along with the electronic blurbs at a leisurely pace. Tenchi bobbed his head with a pleased grin, remembering scenes from the American jazz bars, and almost snapped his fingers approvingly. A liquid hum carried the whole package of rhythms along like clouds against a time-lapsed sunset.  
  
Ryoko smiled against the music like a gentle massage, tilting her shoulders and floating her arms in a dance graceful enough to make her shine out amid a thousand others who could do no better than imitate a paper bag in the wind. Stuck between a hopeless attempt to match her elegance and the red- faced urge to join it, Tenchi eventually just stared along with a handful of other hypnotized young men and more than a couple envious young women.  
  
The beat picked up, drum and bass steadily carrying synthesizer melodies through space and young people back and forth in waves of black- light vanity. Tenchi and Ryoko began dancing with more energy as it became not necessarily easier but more compelling to move as the machines drove samples, loops, analog and pure emotional energy into their skulls. All the lights responded in the same complementing sync, while the DJ himself waved a hand in the air with, ironically, all the natural grace of Tenchi's father.  
  
The music's momentum gradually relaxed back into a soft stream of drawn out notes. Tenchi was almost disappointed to cut his next rug short, but he took advantage of the excuse to catch his breath without hesitation. He'd been looking up at Ryoko throughout his energetic if a little chaotic, response to the demanding rhythms. It was challenging enough to match his hardware to the DJ's software without bumping into anyone, and almost impossible to keep his focus on one person. He expected her to take the calm tones as another excuse to latch onto him again, but when another dancer moved and put her in full view again he saw her adjust to the change of pace naturally. Unlike her earlier graceful tribute to the ambiance, this slightly more rigid valley inspired an almost gypsy-like series of head turns and arm poses, and brought her closer to Tenchi with each movement.  
  
Like the deadly lethargy of a snake, her slow approach brought her right onto him before he could react.  
  
"Get ready Tenchi, I think it's going to get crazy in here soon."  
  
*Great. Just what I need: a noisy place to give her an excuse to whisper in my ear.  
  
Before he could cower away from Ryoko's still active coils, his ears picked up exactly what she was warning him of. In the distance of the music's space he could hear the same driving lead melody again, it was getting louder by microscopic increments, the DJ must've been twisting a knob up with tweezers. He tried to relax his muscles and made sure that there would be no accidental body contact with anyone around him, although Ryoko had slithered back a little her expression showed no such concern. Rather than gulp as he normally would, he turned towards the stage and tried to welcome the next assault by coiling a ready spring in his body with a defiant smile. The second climax returned with another precisely placed rising of crystals, and struck with triple the force of the first.  
  
It was so loud that Tenchi almost reached for his ears, but instead he pummeled back with open hands pin-wheeling almost out of control. Each sound raced through him, he danced so fiercely he couldn't tell if anyone else was actually standing still. Moving to this music easily surpassed any regimented sport, and he never considered slowing down until the beats did. The psychedelic manipulation of blue fire and red plastic hands on the projection screens struck him as more beautiful now that he'd developed a taste for the whole environment. Ryoko's voice crept up from behind and made him smile rather than jump, the merge of the images and the sounds was so perfect now that he just assumed she'd been watching the screens from over his shoulder.  
  
"Heyyyyy Tenchi." The mischief in her voice was only moderate by her standards.  
  
"Yes Ryoko," he answered calmly, waiting for her to wrap her arms around him so that she could say how beautiful the ever-changing background was.  
  
"Looooook what I've got."  
  
If she wasn't up to something now then she never was. Tenchi forgot all about the screen and looked behind him one hair at a time. A familiar orange glow was slowly spreading over his right shoulder, memories of a demolished school via a certain weapon made his eyes bulge and teeth click together.  
  
"^Ryoko! Put that away before you hurt somebody!^" Rather than try to turn a whisper into a shout, Tenchi's voice went more akin to a shout overflowing into a whisper. He turned slowly, praying that no one would ask to try out her new party toy.  
  
"What's wrong Tenchi," Ryoko questioned teasingly, waving the little glow-stick between her thumb and index finger like a carrot for Ryo-ohki, "I don't think they're dangerous."  
  
Tenchi felt an uncanny urge to collapse to the ground with a sigh of humiliated relief. He just hung his head and awaited the helpless although comforting laugh that always came whenever she pulled off a good joke, it felt better to admit to this kind of defeat every time.  
  
Ryoko's knees locked together, one hand pulling back her hair and one gently thrusting the tip of the dance prop into Tenchi's chest. He took his punishment in lea of the reward: another devilish laugh without any real trace of malice.  
  
"Oh you should have seen your face Tenchi! It was priceless!" She flung her arms around him and snickered into his neck. Tenchi only sighed and returned the embrace with a little more enthusiasm than normal. A pleased moan replaced the laughter as Ryoko moved her body closer.  
  
"Um," his usual nervousness was watered down by a slight lack of breath for the first time.  
  
"Tenchi," his dance partner cooed, smiling to herself as she felt the lump of Tenchi's gulp slide against her face.  
  
"I'm sorry if I scared you, but you should have known I wouldn't take my sword out in public...since you asked me to."  
  
*This is perfect! This is perfect! Tenchi's already laughed at my jokes twice, and he hasn't run away yet. I'd milk this for all it's worth, but watching Tenchi dance is so very, very nice. I can't wait to see Aeka's face when he has to admit that he had a good time! Oops, I think the music's speeding up again.  
  
"It's okay Ryoko," Tenchi breathed while trying to let her out of the hug as politely as possible.  
  
"Oh and Tenchi," she continued with a little mischief still leftover. She stepped back from him almost tauntingly and smiled at the frightened 'Now what?' expression on his face.  
  
"You must really like this music too, you're already working up a sweat."  
  
Ryoko winked at him and rejoined the music, waving her glow-stick playfully at the red face trying to follow suit.  
  
A new synth-bass sound drove on like a programmed manipulation of plastic water jugs bouncing down a flight of stairs. The pace picked up and Tenchi smiled at the crisp, unapologetically sci-fi tones. This new arrangement was so impressive and invigorating that he was considering trying out a new movement. Sensing his enjoyment, Ryoko boldly took Tenchi's hands and began twirling with him, laughing in a full voice that her surprise was well received.  
  
The chaos of color and movement behind her blurred as they threatened to create a whirlpool out of the entire crowd. With a sound like the stalking legs of a cybernetic centipede, the DJ began to pull the tempo back up. Already euphoric from the spinning, they both cheered out loud. A moment of near telepathy passed between them, and they shared a grin of feral anticipation. The music seemed to take a deep breath to blow the house down. An angel's wail, a tweak of circuitry, and their hands parted, releasing them back into the crowd with a head start of dizziness at the precise moment that everything exploded.  
  
It was the apocalypse and the enlightenment. Through the DJ's machines Ryoko, Tenchi, and nearly everyone else in the crowd became willingly entwined in a raging trance of movement. The music itself throbbed with epic fury; desire seemed to be hugging violence to herself and forcing him to dance it off. Even when the tempo slowed, the audience only built up more energy, holding their hands up in glory, each slow movement only shaking the champagne bottle, ready to explode in a froth again...right---now.  
  
Even as his muscles began to scream at him, Tenchi felt they were only cheering him on. Each time he looked over at Ryoko she seemed so consumed with passion that she might burst into her battle suit at any moment. Her limbs crossed and spread with jubilant tosses of hair. The image struck him with as much power as their first encounter, but at that moment he couldn't have found fear if he'd tried.  
  
At bittersweet last the revelry bowed out, softly washed back into the circuitry with an elegant and full bodied whine. Ryoko jumped up to holler her cheers with the rest of the crowd, barely bringing herself down in time to keep from being noticed. She kept her fists up in triumph even as she searched for Tenchi, who was trying to evenly distribute his lungs between hoots of praise and gasps for air. His face was dripping with sweat, his limps taught and nearly trembling from exertion. At the sight of him Ryoko couldn't help but lick her lips.  
  
"He-hey Ryoko," Tenchi puffed when he recognized her.  
  
Once again his date failed to suppress a hungry instinct, and she flung her arms around him with a giddy squeal. Though she was squeezing him fairly tightly, Tenchi only caught her and laughed into her hair, which only increased his asphyxiation.  
  
"Ryoko! I-can't br-" he gasped.  
  
She promptly stood back with her hands behind her, looking ashamed.  
  
"Just---let me---catch my breath---first."  
  
Ryoko brightened and nodded.  
  
"Well, you were right, this is more fun than I thought. Thanks for making me take you."  
  
A certain replica she'd merged with suddenly took control and clutched at the blush on her face.  
  
"Really," she giggled, "you're really having a good time?"  
  
"Yeah, but you were right about the sweating part." Tenchi chuckled.  
  
"Oh don't worry, it just make me able to smell you better."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Oh, uh, nevermind." She turned away, her blush tripling.  
  
"Okay Ryoko, could you wait here a minute while I go to the restroom."  
  
"Sure Tenchi," she nodded, still too embarrassed to look him in the eye.  
  
The Rave-Samurai apprentice looked around for the facilities and spotted a group of lines. He hoped the shortest one would be for him. When he saw the considerably larger group of girls at the opposite wall he began wondering if Ryoko would need to go as well, he saw her eat, but he never really noticed her using---Tenchi blushed and shook his head. Just as he was telling himself that she was a big girl, something caught his eye.  
  
Two youths were taking turns holding a paint mask over the others face and tipping them backward. Tenchi had heard about this new use for nasal decongestant and regarded them with moderate repulsion. He shook his head and left them to their brain damage. A few more steps, a few more disgusted thoughts of all the other intoxication that was likely going on around him, and he froze in terror. Ryoko cut her comparatively toned down dance short and looked up at her date quizzically as he came dashing back.  
  
"Tenchi, what's-"  
  
"Ryoko, listen to me okay!" Tenchi nearly yelled, taking her by the shoulders to emphasize his urgency. Before Ryoko could respond he continued again, staring straight into her eyes.  
  
"You can't take anything from anybody here!"  
  
Ryoko stared back in confusion for a moment. Once the instructions sunk in, her lip sagged while her eyes began to part and soften sadly.  
  
"But-" She muttered.  
  
"Just don't take anything from anyone, okay!"  
  
He was obviously serious, and Ryoko was horrified that he was going to shake her for emphasis at any moment, so she lowered her head slightly. 'Okay' came out just loudly enough for him to hear.  
  
"Good." Tenchi sighed and smiled with relief as he ran off to the bathroom.  
  
Ryoko watched him go, then turned back to the festivities still going on around her. She stared at the new swirls of color on the screen and tried to tap her foot to the current beat, but the entire scene had somehow lost its appeal. Just as she was sniffing back a lump in her throat a strange voice called out from behind her.  
  
"Wow! You are, without a doubt, one of the best dancers I've seen here all night."  
  
Ryoko turned to see two young men, one a little shorter than Sayta, the other much wider than Tenchi. They were both wearing the same style of oversized clothing, with floresant plastic necklaces dangling over their T- shirts. She smiled shyly at the complement.  
  
"R-really?"  
  
"Definitely, you partying tonight?" He asked with ten-minutes-of-fame charm.  
  
"Um, I think so-"  
  
"Yeah that's what I thought, so what are you on?"  
  
"On? I'm still on the floor aren't I?" Ryoko blinked rapidly and looked at her feet. Her two admirers laughed heartily.  
  
"No-no---I mean any, you know, ^helpers^."  
  
"Yeah, helpers, like whip-its, ex, fry. Make the party last all night, get you dancing again!"  
  
"Oh um, I don't think so, I had a pretty good dinner tonight though. Are helpers really good?"  
  
The taller one looked down on his friend and nodded with a huge grin, his friend chuckled so randomly he seemed to gag. His own helpers helped him along.  
  
"Ah hell, can't leave the lovely lady high and dry. Here-" He took a quick look around and dug a cigarette pack out of his pocket.  
  
"This fry is on the house, you just come find me again if you want any more." A few taps on the bottom of the low profile smuggling unit released a little helper into his hand.  
  
Ryoko thought about the word "fry" and associated it with Sasami's fried foods. She smiled gratefully.  
  
---  
  
Tenchi wiped the tap water from his face with a paper towel and breathed what relief he could get from an overcrowded, under-maintained restroom. He looked in the mirror and grew serious again.  
  
*This has been a lot of fun, but what if Ryoko wants to do this again? It was supposed to be a way to make things even between her and Aeka. Only now...QUIT IT TENCHI! This is NOT the time to get into this debate again. Have fun with Ryoko, wait till she gets bored---though if the other DJs are anything like that guy I might have serious cramps before we finally go. All right, yes you're having fun, yes Ryoko is a beautiful dancer, but you ^can^ keep this cool.  
  
After a thought of taking Aeka to a slow dance somewhere Tenchi shook his head in frustration, stared down the coward in the mirror, and went back outside to dance with his date.  
  
---  
  
A mild mannered approach rarely finds anyone in a chaotic crowd, but Tenchi still mumbled a hopelessly inaudible 'excuse me' to everyone he crossed. When at last he caught a glimpse of the cyan flag he'd been seeking he let out a sigh of relief. A path to her cleared unexpectedly, and from about four meters away the prize at the end of the gauntlet suddenly terrified him. Every organ in his body simultaneously made a mad dash for his throat as he watched a stranger with a clearly intoxicated grimace place a tiny square of paper on Ryoko's tongue.  
  
  
  
---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person an extra review.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
Be sure to stretch before and after all physically strenuous activity.  
  
  
  
^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^  
  
-Verse Four-  
  
  
  
Recreation (Part 2)  
  
  
  
Seita paused his fingers over the last rook.  
  
"What did you say this style of music was called?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, it's by an earth composer. I think Tenchi called it 'class-ick- all'. You said you liked this one right?"  
  
Mihoshi's host duties once again distracted her from the game at hand. She watched her passenger looked up and to the side at something interesting as the bright strokes of sound tilted and swept by with self-assured elegance.  
  
"It certainly helps me concentrate better than some of the other selections." He spoke to the chessboard with moderate relief.  
  
"Sorry about that." Squirming out the blush end of an embarrassed laugh, Mihoshi tried to push away the memory of Seita's face when she'd started dancing to the high-pitched bubbles of her favorite cartoon's theme song.  
  
"Don't worry about it, time spent criticizing music would be much better spent enjoying it."  
  
She took her attention away from his defensive move the moment he did and tried and failed to reflect his contentment beyond a soft smirk.  
  
"Your move Mihoshi."  
  
"Oh right, sorry. Now, let me see-"  
  
An itchy head and a heavy chin, her cheeks squished up further as a long sigh completed the thinking posture. Seita slouched to matching height with arms crossed on his lap, alternately lifting his eyes from the pieces to the opponent's face. Three minutes later she raised her head with a mildly triumphant smile, grabbed her last knight, and proceeded to leapfrog it over two pawns and the last rook.  
  
"Your turn!" She looked up at her opponent with closed eyes and an open smile. "I wonder how Tenchi and Ryoko are doing."  
  
Bright prompts gave up hiding how much she didn't care for games without celebration or conversation. A no sound reply opened her eyes. The pieces she jumped had not disappeared, and to add dismay to her confusion Seita stared at them with a hardened face.  
  
"What's wrong?" She asked meekly.  
  
"I think you may have confused this game with another. Would Officer Mihoshi perhaps like to play that game instead?" Perfect brows wedged, forced into his voice to keep it immensely soft and immensely condescending, or passive.  
  
"Oh I, I um-" Mihoshi stuttered into his calmly searching face. She took another look down at the game board and her trembling lip began pumping water. The mistake glared back, and even all the appropriate moves joined to judge complete incompetence. Something in the back of her mind wrote this game off as the final condemning verdict.  
  
"I-I'm such an IDIOT!" The self-effacement erupted like a thrown away final statement.  
  
Sobs burst out and shook through. Her head fell down into her arms, muffling distress but consequently making it sound twice as pitiful. Seita remained still, his eyes closed lightly for a moment and the chess pieces melted down into small checkers, each of the kings and queens retaining a dead soldier as a crown. He waited for his sobbing captain to look up at the newly transformed board.  
  
After at least a few minutes of blind breakdown, Mihoshi's own distress made enough room for her to remember the man still sitting across from her. Guilt at putting him in such an uncomfortable position set further weight on her eyes till they collapsed again into self-pity. Another minute passed without any change save the resigning dissipation of their game board. Exhaustion, shame, she finally rose with what she could and daintily wiped an eye. A strained gulp, a weak reflex smile, both unable to hide the desperate hope that her passenger would offer some compassion or comfort. He took the initiative and gave away her expectation.  
  
"You are overreacting, Mihoshi."  
  
His voice was still soft, but it came with a frankness not critical so much as thoroughly unbiased, almost unsympathetic. Mihoshi only starred at him and instead of searching for a particular emotion, she found herself looking ^at^ his eye. The color, the shape, the entire organ suggested the product of some idealized commercial design. A blink broke this line of thought to make way for another; his response, rather than discourage her actions, shot through her as more a statement of fact or purpose. It was all too much to consider, she hadn't yet shaken the shame for her childishness and again it dragged her head down with the timid beginnings of a new sob.  
  
"I'm s-sorry Seita."  
  
"There's no need to apologize." The warmth in his voice returned slightly and brought back her silent plea for comfort. He smiled sideways, clearly trying to encourage her to laugh, that it was just a game, and that he wasn't disgusted.  
  
Mihoshi managed a shaky sort of grimace and a weak chuckle.  
  
"I wonder how Tenchi and Ryoko are doing?"  
  
The titled smile curved a little higher. For a moment Mihoshi wanted to crawl across the table and bury herself in his arms.  
  
"You said that already."  
  
It should have sounded like a criticism but again ended up only as an observation. Unbiased. Nonetheless, Mihoshi's small ray dissipated and she thumped palm into forehead, elbow propping her head up against a wavering breath. Exhausted anger further disheveled her hair and defied another sob in surrender.  
  
"I'm such an ^idiot^!"  
  
Looking down in an almost breathless whisper, Seita heard himself reply.  
  
"^You said that already too^."  
  
***  
  
It had taken stacks of Atlas willpower for Tenchi to keep himself from dashing over to Ryoko and clawing the piece of paper out of her mouth like a parent saving their toddler from a chocking hazard. Goodness knows how the ex-pirate might defend herself against that. Instead, he released his anxiety on the source of the problem as she watched the action unfold with bewildered eyes. Her uncalled-for knight in shining armor grabbed hold of the taller candy man's collar and swung him onto his back. There would likely be a short pause between the next bellow, enough time to bite a delinquent face off.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU GIVE HER!?"  
  
"Whoa! Whoa man! It's just a little fry!" The prey wailed itself a coward.  
  
Tenchi's eyes began to swallow up the ignorant cause of earth's next potential catastrophe. The bombastic electric frenzy faded to a firefly and cricket background. A tiny voice stampeded in a terrified whisper.  
  
*Ryoko---on acid---hallucinating! No. NO! She---she might see ^anything^, how the hell am I going to keep her from-  
  
"Chill out man, you're gonna give your lady a bad trip or somethin."  
  
Tenchi dropped him and remained motionless while the ex-pert quickly scrambled to his companion's side. Both youths stared at the clearly overworked boyscout as he remained bent over, still starring fearfully at his hands. They looked around for security before attempting to shrug away their fear.  
  
"Make love not war, ya know." The supplier offered, taking one last glance at Ryoko for good measure.  
  
"Damn Psycho," his useless back up added not too loudly.  
  
Tenchi's visions already had them all but forgotten. None bordered on excessive or bothered with unlikely. It was all going to happen; Ryoko would see monsters, mountains of slime and teeth falling down on her like redwoods. There'd be flame pits and skies turned to gore all closing around her. She would scream in terror as she slashed her sword through crowds of panicked dancers. Missiles of energy would rage out and find their way into every city in Japan. There would be nothing short of a holocaust by the time the substance wore off, or killed her. Each new premonition brought a few more of heaven's names in a plea for prevention. No answer but a flash of focus to at least ^check^ on Ryoko first.  
  
She looked worried about him mostly, but the drug hadn't seemed to kick in yet. After thanking whatever chemical Gods were responsible, he put his hands on her shoulders hoping to find an urgency to surpass the volume still needed to compete with the music.  
  
"Ryoko, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes Tenchi, I think so, they-they said it would-" The music did fade into the background as Ryoko's nervousness stood alongside his at the frontline.  
  
"Nevermind what they said!" Tenchi gripped her a little harder and she stared back with disbelief swelling confusion swelling fear.  
  
"Listen to me Ryoko, we have to get you home to Washu."  
  
"But why?"  
  
"That stuff they gave you, it's not good. It's going to make you see things."  
  
"You mean, like Seita?"  
  
"Not really, no, there won't be any control over it; you might think you're being attacked when there's no one there."  
  
Ryoko's fear could turn to anger quicker than most and she jerked her head about for a sign of the two young men.  
  
"Don't worry about them, lets just get out of here. C'mon." Tenchi practically dragged her through the crowds and out to the parking lot, matching the condescending way he'd spoken as he made his friend into a helplessly stubborn child.  
  
---  
  
Halfway to the car she touched her forehead with a soft groan. Tenchi whirled around fearfully.  
  
"What is it, Ryoko?!"  
  
"I feel kind of strange Tenchi, were the lights this bright before?" She asked the way she did when waking up with a hangover-stomachache.  
  
Mounting fear split to make way for a face brightening idea.  
  
"Hold on, this should help in case we don't get to Washu in time." He grunted anxiously as he tore at the bottom of his shirt, eventually holding up a thin strip of overpriced fabric. Once again she was obviously confused.  
  
"Here, I'm going to blindfold you, that way you won't have to worry about seeing anything." Tenchi smiled nervously, though clearly proud of his quick thinking.  
  
She looked at him, then the blindfold, as if he'd just asked her to severe a limb for him. He noticed hesitation.  
  
"Trust me Ryoko, it's safer than just trying to keep your eyes closed." Gold melted a little and she locked it up tight, bowing her head lifelessly.  
  
"Okay, Tenchi."  
  
They trembled enough to notice, both afraid that Ryoko might exit reality at any moment. When the blindfold was secure Tenchi took her hand, opened the passenger door, and guided the two together. He wondered if he'd tied it too tight but focused instead on getting the right key in his hand.  
  
***  
  
The van was no hot-rod but could maneuver aggressively enough to scare a few people out of his way. Tenchi hardly remembered all he'd learned about road manners as he considered pounding the horn and yelling obscenities to get them home as quickly as possible. Using movies as guides probably wasn't a good idea though.  
  
When they finally reached a less crowded stretch of freeway he looked over to check on Ryoko. She looked like his prisoner; hands folded in her lap, eyes blinded, head hung. He'd never spent so much silent time with her, in fact he'd never spent so much time alone with any girl in any situation. Unable to think calmly enough for comfort he became consumed with worry, his own imagination lingering to make demons out of the other cars. Just a helpful reminder of what he was risking by putting only a tiny cloth over her eyes. Headlights flickered over them through the holes in the center divide, the strobe-effect keeping memories of the dance bitter. His face darkened.  
  
*Why did I leave her alone out there?! Ryoko doesn't know how to turn down a free gift. What made me think I could take her out to something like this? Who knows what that stuff is going to do to her?  
  
"Ten-chi," Ryoko mewed.  
  
"Did you say something Ryoko?" He blinked out of his scowl and turned towards her.  
  
"^Cold^, Tenchi...my hands are so cold." She began rubbing them together in small childish motions.  
  
"Here, Ryoko." Watching the rode every other second he reached over and grabbed her hand. She winced slightly as he pinched slightly and directed them to the vents. "Put your hands here."  
  
The heater warmed up and he noticed that she was still shivering. Iron dropped in his stomach at the possibility of the hallucinations being more than visual. It was a warm night, and getting warmer in the van as Ryoko showed no sign of feeling the heater. He noticed something shimmer on her cheek and wondered if it was a bead of sweat or a tear. The now lethal driver continued to curse inwardly as his passenger kept trying to warm her hands in the darkness.  
  
***  
  
"WASHU!" Tenchi bellowed as he swung the door open violently. The house was dark, darker for the meager computer monitor glow further obscured by a smooth blonde head. Tenchi pounded a light on and pulled Ryoko inside, nearly off her feet.  
  
"Seita, where's Washu!?" Tenchi ordered before the tall frame could even rise enough to look him in the eye.  
  
"She's been in her lab for a while now Tenchi, what's wrong?" He finished rising and smoothed his robe modestly, walking towards them in a lazy billow of black silk. Obvious urgency caught calm interest.  
  
"Ryoko took a hallucinogenic at the rave, and I don't know what it'll do to her!" Tenchi snapped, pulling her towards the closet door.  
  
Seita eyed the situation more closely, after watching Ryoko almost stumble again he wondered why she was not levitating to make the towing process easier.  
  
"Hence the blindfold?" He guessed knowingly.  
  
Tenchi ignored him, twisted the door handle, cursed its lock, and began pounding.  
  
"Washu! Are you in there, Washu!?"  
  
Showing more patience to the point of a crossed arm art critic posture, Seita waited for anything while Tenchi waited for Washu. Thirty seconds was clearly time they didn't have.  
  
"Dammit Washu! Would you open-"  
  
The door moved of its own accord, swinging outward almost too quickly for Tenchi to dodge. Washu was in a dirty lab coat, hands clawed at her sides, eyes glared out over bags that were pronounced even under her protective goggles. She greeted them with a hostile growl.  
  
"^Who the^-"  
  
"Washu, I need you to help Ryoko, she took a drug and I don't know what to do!"  
  
Washu, taken aback by the failure of her mad scientist appearance to intimidate the intruders, only blinked in confusion. Tenchi invited himself in without a second thought. Before Ryoko was pulled in as well Seita heard a tiny voice:  
  
"^They gave it to me.^"  
  
---  
  
Tenchi paced as Washu led Ryoko to an examining table, she seemed too afraid to protest even this well known resentment. He waited for a scream, a shriek, a blood-curdling moan to pour out as Washu removed the blindfold and unleashed the temporary insanity he'd seen in a few educational films and documentaries. Washu asked with cold impatience for her to open her eyes.  
  
She complied hesitantly, her gold shone drearily with tiny scarlet ribbons pulling at the sides. Tenchi didn't want to breath relief too soon, but exhaustion truly looked to have filled any possible room for madness. Washu passed a small light over Ryoko's eyes, turned her head from side to side and brought up her holo-laptop. A huge worm of twisted wires and dark glass orbs sank down from the ceiling. The suspect patient shied away from it.  
  
"Relax Ryoko, this isn't going to hurt." Washu explained.  
  
Ryoko and Tenchi both held their breath as thin planes of green light scanned every inch of the timid drug fiend. The test finished and the worm retreated to the ceiling like a slurped noodle. It all took no more than ten seconds and Washu was typing roughly again with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Just as I thought Tenchi; the drugs that pass for hallucinogens on this planet are fairly weak. There are traces of it in her central nervous system, but it's already being diluted. Whatever it might have done to her, she's already gone through the last of the after effects."  
  
Ryoko looked up with confused relief while Tenchi just looked confused.  
  
"I'm okay?"  
  
"Yes, you're fine! If you think you see anything strange...you can probably take it up with Seita." Washu was still clearly irritated, but a touch of extra anxiety clenched her sarcasm at more than being interrupted for something simple.  
  
More hair fell forward to veil Ryoko's face. Tenchi took a step toward her, assuming himself unnoticed.  
  
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some real work to do." Science gestured efficiently at the door.  
  
"But Washu-"  
  
"When you get outside this lab sector just use the door with the crab above it." Washu huffed at Tenchi's simplicity.  
  
"No, I mean okay, I mean---but how?"  
  
Washu looked over at Ryoko who was finally rising from the table careful to avoid Tenchi and leave them both behind with slow and sullen movements.  
  
"Tenchi, have you ever noticed how much sake it takes to get Ryoko drunk?" The little doctor asked with a little more patience.  
  
"Uh, yeah. But-" He turned away from the party champ in question.  
  
"She doesn't just have an experienced liver Tenchi, her whole body has a very high tolerance for all kinds of foreign chemicals. One little drop of- " Washu read off a short list of long chemical names, "-isn't going to be enough to make her totally lose touch with reality."  
  
"Thank you Washu," Tenchi sighed relief at the floor, "I-"  
  
Washu was already walking back to a darker corner of her lab while Ryoko finished exiting through the shadows.  
  
"I'm very busy Tenchi, I'll come out after this next string of data is processed." She dismissed him coldly.  
  
He hesitated at her back long enough to build the proper mope to carry him up the stairs hopefully through the crab door. On the center step he considered making sure the door would be there to open up as a buffer to ask what was so important. A moment's hesitation was enough to re-shut his mouth. All the doors closed quietly behind him.  
  
Back at an enormous display of electronic cooperation, Washu looked over the odd plasma filter and nano-isotope replicater. With a flick of her wrist holographic symbols began to appear in-between her and the more complex mechanisms. None of the icons lived up to her expectations and she slammed her fist down onto the nearest flat surface.  
  
***  
  
Tenchi saw a plume of Ryoko's hair sticking out over the side of the highest rafter. He looked under her and noticed Seita sleeping on the couch with his hands neatly crossed on his chest. It had been nice of Mihoshi to offer to sleep in her ship, but he was still waiting for Ryoko and the strange illusionist to have a serious confrontation. He supposed hopefully that the occasional practical joke would appeal to her, especially if it was on the princess. Not wanting to wake Seita, he called up to the rafters in a whisper.  
  
"Goodnight Ryoko, I-I'm sorry about everything that happened."  
  
Silence  
  
"Ryoko?"  
  
A thick snore poured down. Tenchi frowned sadly and went to bed, mostly ignoring his sore limbs.  
  
---  
  
The ceiling never looked to plain. Ryoko had considered trying to bring a reading lamp and some other items up there, but something always held her back. She looked between her toes at the tattered piece of paper tacked into the wood. She'd made a crude drawing of Tenchi and her holding hands shortly after the assimilation with that damn sentimental robot. Once it was finished she'd been about to destroy it in frustration, but a shared memory of a failed attempt to eliminate her 'distraction' had made her compromise to put it up where only she could see. Searches for happy memories to blot out the recent ones were all in vain; there were too many threatening tears to worry about anyway. Quiet as a mouse, she continued to fight them down.  
  
"Hey, Ryoko." Ryoko closed her eyes and cursed that she had stopped snoring. Seita spoke in a casual, yet still consciously smooth voice. He used it so much, but unfortunately it was too finely crafted to be dismissed as a monotone. And she really wanted to dismiss it tonight.  
  
"It feels good to get back to reality-"  
  
He opened up his velvet sitting room for no response, even the night sounds outside seemed to be ignoring him. A rather large smile snuck across his face and slithered into his voice.  
  
"-doesn't it?" 


	5. Verse Five is Master Part 1&2

---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
When entering another's home or church, be passively curious about the proper etiquette to observe.  
  
  
  
^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^  
  
-Verse Five-  
  
  
  
Master (Part 1)  
  
  
  
As a hero's isolation---compliments a villain's fame.  
  
Save the guests of honor---and the prisoners of shame.  
  
As a hero's indecision---requires a villain's regret.  
  
Save the prize and title---until the stage is set.  
  
-ZJS  
  
  
  
Emperor Azusa always looked out over the entire expanse of his kingdom, his throne room just happened to be in the most immediate vicinity. The perpetual living entertainment lingered wherever they didn't lounge, looking beautiful, or juggling, or playing elegant music on expensive harps and flutes. It was very important to always have people doing something in his presence, and muted artisans who lived to perform could do so freely at relatively low cost.  
  
They were only permitted to look at their partial reflections in the large decorative pool, its water touched only by a wide platform connecting Azusa's side of the room to the other. He couldn't very well do his work without some kind of buffer between himself and the daily gathering of nobles and ambassadors, but he wouldn't feel very righteous making them all wait outside. Truth be told, he often took greater amusement from the antics of these performers than from the ones who were less wealthy, more truly honored, and happier to be there.  
  
The latest audience granted to a lesser western noble had finished and the well-dressed beggar was doing a poor job in not sulking away. Having forgotten the conversation halfway through its formal closing, the image of the departing man struck the Emperor as softly as a sweet wine dream. A sleepy smile brightened one side of his face and he closed his eyes to gesture in the next appointment. He listened closely to the various parties gathered across the room, each assembled and broken off in various groups. There might be an argument over who was next. He certainly hoped so; it was the easiest way to get real information out of them.  
  
Queens Misaki and Funaho entered behind them, unannounced and without escort, though 'unannounced' couldn't really be said for the huge doors that bellowed open for them. Despite the comedy of so many nobles falling over each other to simultaneously humble themselves while flattering his wives, Azusa frowned and sat more rigid on his throne. Like parting water, each minstrel bowed a little further as the distinctly matched steps passed by.  
  
"My loves. I was not expecting you today." The gentle misunderstanding in his voice hardly matched the intensity in his face.  
  
They did not answer.  
  
Azusa's frown flattened, but his brow pressed more tightly together. He fingered a small series of buttons on the right arm of the throne and a pleasing bell rang over the entire room. The high-class elevator was ready.  
  
One by one but practically as one, the minstrels each rose, bowed again without raising their eyes, and began a calm exodus from the throne room. After the first few passed the groups of nobility a few Dukes looked from them back to their Emperor, just able to see the annoyance on his face. Taking the hint double-quick the second time they all but pushed the minstrels and each other aside to be out the door first.  
  
The uniformed guards followed suit when all the dressed up occupants had left, the last one bowing mechanically and closed the door behind him. Another slightly lower bell toned and a transparent, barely visible curtain of energy began dragging itself over the entire room, moving towards them like a full sail. When it passed over the queens the emperor closed his eyes, and when it completely passed through him into the wall he opened them.  
  
They were both staring up at him, calm formality hiding Misaki's tears and perhaps something a little more vengeful in Funaho. Without asking, without guessing, without needing to show he needed to do neither, Azusa closed his eyes and breathed in contemplation of the issue he facing him.  
  
He thought on how dangerous things had been in the kingdom during Sasami's ceremony, the lengths gone through to make sure that it was still grand with so very few people in attendance. How easily she'd been convinced that letters to her and her sister had needed to be destroyed as a matter of national security. How quickly she had rejected his suggestion to bring all her earth friends and family to Jurai, and never return. He remembered meeting Aeka's ship moments after it emerged from the artificial wormhole, transporting Sasami to her, and kindly requesting that they come back when they were ready to stay.  
  
One or both of his wives had been present during all these proceedings, and both of them had always appeared to support the motivation behind them. It had been a week since Ryo-oh's brief and secret presence, and no less than a week since the Queens confronted him of the farce in the warlike alert around their daughters' visits. He'd had that long to consider and reconsider things and be ready if their silence had not been acceptance. Now his wives were demanding audience, crossing their arms and tapping their feet with only a visit and only a look.  
  
"Two thousand years," Azusa began, opening his eyes to stare at his entire kingdom and, in his immediate vicinity, the ones he shared it with.  
  
Misaki's eyes began to widen and moisten, while Funaho maintained her serenity with slow blinks.  
  
"I told him I could wait another two thousand years. That was a little more than a year ago."  
  
"We were there my Lord." Funaho answered with the plane voice of bitterly confirmed suspicions.  
  
"And you are ^here^ now. Nothing more need be said." Cold authority slowed time around his already ancient form.  
  
"Maybe the people need to know." Misaki spoke up, surprising Azusa and even Funaho. She took no notice and continued. "Maybe we've kept it from them for too long."  
  
Azusa braved Funaho's eyes, both of them all but ignoring the Second Queen as she sniffed back a tear. Understanding passed down, at last Funaho broke the stare and the silence, speaking softly to the floor.  
  
"Indeed, we have."  
  
Misaki looked over at her sister Queen, confused and nearly shaking. Seeming to feel the attention, Funaho raised her head and spoke to the one just beside her while facing the one slightly above her.  
  
"Perhaps too long now to give it to them all at once."  
  
Rising slowly from his throne, descending the steps half way, speaking as he walked, Azusa closed their private meeting and reopened the doors to the ministers and minstrels. Not necessarily in that order.  
  
"Another 2000 years, by then the divisions within the system will have weakened it enough. Our people will be ready for change."  
  
***  
  
A duo of footsteps shuffled through the forest, falling in and out of sync with each other. Different voices took focused turns, exchanging pained nervousness with calm compassion, the telltale sound of counsel. The Shinto priest Katshuhito walked alongside one of the youngest returning visitors to the Misaki shrine. Mr. Jenjuri wore his face like his fine yet sensible clothes, with the mixture of confidence and regret that comes from middle age. He kept his hands close to his body to look merely embarrassed when he was truly ashamed.  
  
"Thank you for offering to walk me back to my car. I know these woods are probably safer than any ally in the cities, but walking alone they can still be kinda...creepy."  
  
"You haven't been listening to those old stories about a demon in that cave have you?"  
  
"No, no of course not," he laughed weakly.  
  
"Well, it's the least I can do for a patron such as yourself, if I get any visits during the week it's usually from the elderly or tourists."  
  
"I guess it' s not surprising, the big Churches are real popular these days. My half-sister keeps trying to drag me along to their services, but I don't know. Those huge crowds of people singing and reciting together, seems more like trying to get into a club than trying to find peace."  
  
"Hm," Katshuhito judged with as little judgment as possible.  
  
"But each to their own I guess." The passive tolerance exercise completed.  
  
"You still haven't told me what's really bothering you, Mr. Jenjuri."  
  
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain."  
  
"Don't worry, it's usually not that hard to listen," Katshuhito smiled at his own old man's wit. Mr. Jenjuri chuckled weakly again and paid extra attention to the ground in front of him.  
  
"I'm unhappy a lot lately," he began, pulling his elbows further into his ribs to resist the urge to hug himself into a ball.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, why do you think this is?" Like all good healers, Katshuhito indirectly let his patient know that they were not alone without making them feel like a statistic.  
  
"I-I don't know exactly, my life just seems really unsatisfying sometimes, like everything I do is worthless."  
  
"Are you seeing your life as unsatisfying, or un-stimulating?" Katshuhito asked sincerely, trying not to sound critical.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Are you upset because your life is not good, or because your life is not great. There is a difference between wanting to be significant and wanting to be special. Perhaps you have an abundance of ambition, rather than a lack of ability."  
  
"I don't know, I just get frustrated with myself. I'm not all too afraid of failure, but the things I do accomplish aren't making me happy. My work doesn't give me any pride any more, and to be my age and unmarried---it's still upsetting to me, not to mention my parents. But I worry that even if I did find a wife, start a family, I would end up feeling like I'd simply gone through the motions of a factory machine without actually making anything, or something like that."  
  
The confession came in with less of the usual hesitation and stammering, but with only the soft fluid quality of someone speaking to themselves. Katshuhito inhaled a thought, blinking slowly, patiently waiting for the answer to be in front of him when he opened his eyes. All either of them could see was the forest and a small, dissatisfied man.  
  
"I mean, I look at my brother and, well he's my half-brother in law actually, you know, my half-sister's husband. Anyway, I keep wanting to ask him what his secret is. He's got a beautiful family, he's always bragging about his job, and he seems like he enjoys simply eating breakfast more than I enjoy anything."  
  
Mr. Jenjuri's face clenched a little as he looked up but still not to his side. The envy leaking out the corner of his eye seemed to be distantly flirting with resentment. Katshuhito frowned slightly and did what he did every time before kendo practice. He tried to focus on the energy around and within him that he considered the essence of what was good in life, inviting it to cleanse and support his spirit. At last he felt a sensation in his mind not unlike relaxing a clenched fist.  
  
"We will always be able to think about things we desire that other people have, and we almost always have something that some other person would want. I'm sure your brother in law probably envies you for not always having to come along to his wife's services."  
  
"Hm, maybe." He smiled helplessly at the soft humor in the old man's voice.  
  
"But there are even more things we would shun that others have in abundance. If you cannot recognize that you are more fortunate than you could be; at least try to cure your dissatisfaction by your own means. You have a greater chance of achieving your own happiness than achieving your brother's."  
  
Katshuhito walked in silence with Mr. Jenjuri till they reached the edge of a small dirt lot by the mountain road that served as shrine parking. The priest was thanked again in a distant voice and given a polite goodbye, the sun reflected tiny dots of light from his spectacles onto the patron's departing shadow. Both faces remained lost in thought as the humble car disappeared behind trees.  
  
---  
  
Even strides carried Yosho back to his shrine, wondering if his guise as the older-looking priest Katshuhito made his advice seem any more or less sound. Normally the silence of the forest was very calming, but for a moment of no reason he felt extremely cold and almost faint. He shook his head and looked for the sun to judge how much time would be left before Tenchi's practice.  
  
"You were listening to him well enough, but do you think he was listening to you?"  
  
The sensual confidence behind him startled Yosho into a fighting stance. There was nothing in Seita's hands but his hands, folded casually at his waste, and nothing in his expression but a friendly greeting. Ancient instincts relaxed and stood straight again, showing no concern at the hopeless height difference. The unexpected guest leaned his shoulders on a large pine near the path, bending his stiff body at the neck to keep head parallel to trunk. A few strands of blond caught in grooves of bark made Yosho wonder at the last time he'd let his own hair out.  
  
The outfit of the moment was so oversized that it looked inspired by a child making snow angels; the sleeves of his shirt and the pant legs all hung widely about his thin frame. Both pieces were made from the same cloth, nearly turning the outfit into something that might as well have been a robe, or a dress. Any similarity in shape to Katshuhito's own Shinto garments seemed only coincidental. He tried not to stare, but the colors looked so out of place in a natural environment. Red wine lightly intertwined with either lightning arcs or crinkled veins of neon blue, a combination ready to melt into a most hideous purple at any moment.  
  
"Good afternoon Seita, how long have you been about in the forest?" Yosho asked politely.  
  
"Not very long."  
  
Although there was no sign of avoidance or deceit in the young man's voice, Yosho still considered Seita's professed ability to observe the universe indefinitely from within his 'empty' dimension. It was clear that they might stand there for quite a while if someone didn't speak up or make a move. Katshuhito, the priest, decided to do both.  
  
"Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?" The invitation came almost formally as he turned back onto the path.  
  
"Thank you, but perhaps some other time. Professor Washu is still analyzing my physiology to see how it might react to some of the different agents here. She said the food and the air were alright, but to hold off on drinking anything but filtered water." Seita declined after a hesitant smile.  
  
"I understand."  
  
Yosho was surprised at an instant lack of desire to convince the newcomer that tea was little more than that, but he bowed politely and continued walking. Seita joined him at a lively then matching pace.  
  
"So, do you think he was listening as well as you were?" Slightly taller looked down to show much older that he would not have the subject changed on him.  
  
A sudden irritation stirred in Yosho's throat, but rather than ask what concern it was of his, he calmed himself and answered with a patient and worldly tone.  
  
"I suppose that remains to be seen."  
  
"Yes-yes, but do ^you^ think he did?" Seita pressed after chuckling at someone who'd made an unimaginative chess move. Yosho's passive wall stood calm.  
  
"It is not for me to say."  
  
"Maybe not for you to ^know^, but I think you can say."  
  
This confident persistence made him realize that there would be no tolerance for boring conversations with the new guest. After looking at Seita again, Yosho wondered why he hadn't figured this out already.  
  
"Sometimes people can be too deep in a problem to see the solutions standing before them. But Mr. Jenjuri is an intelligent man, I think that he will at least consider my advice."  
  
"Do you think he wants a better self, or a new self altogether?" The playful confidence in Seita's voice left without warning, replaced with a seriousness that might have come from a fellow priest Mr. Jenjuri had spoken to.  
  
"I'm not sure." Yosho considered the sudden change in the discussion's mood for a moment. "Hopefully he does not believe he can achieve the latter."  
  
"Hm." Paused in turn, a small amount of playful challenge returned in half a smile.  
  
"What do ^you^ think Mr. Seita?" Rather than bluntly accuse him of eves dropping, Yosho mercilessly counter attacked the conversation's aggressor in his moment of hesitation.  
  
"Just 'Seita' is fine---Katshuhito." He added the little spoken first name after smiling wider at the abrupt change in tone.  
  
"Perhaps if I knew your family name I'd be more inclined to address you without it." His voice went patient enough to let anyone 'earn' a first name basis.  
  
Seita's face tightened an idea and the silence till his priest looked over, willing to exorcise both.  
  
"I thought I had explained that the name of my old life would no longer suit me, or my extinct family. Names are usually either practical or vain." He blinked slowly at the path ahead. "You can call me 'Mr. Seita' if you wish."  
  
Yosho was prepared to feel guilt for the suppressed self-pity he'd brought out, prepared, even willing, but unmotivated. They walked in silence a little further. Ever patient and hopeful, he watched for the usual face Seita wore when luxuriously enjoying the scenery, when it did not return he decided to change the subject.  
  
"I've been meaning to tell you how much I appreciate the work you've contributed to the household. I must admit I was surprised that someone of your 'experience' would have such a talent for domestic chores."  
  
A sincere compliment might still change the air of their soured conversation.  
  
"And compared to the squabbles that break out between the girls, you seem to get along well enough with everyone."  
  
"I think Aeka's still a little cross with me, but thank you. This is such a wonderful home and it's an honor to make it more so." Seita smiled with complete willingness to start fresh again.  
  
"Tenchi certainly has more time for his studies and training now...I'm sure he'll be more grateful for that later." The joke was thankfully picked up with a chuckle, though it sounded as if he'd found an obscure angle to it.  
  
"Which reminds me," Yosho continued, "have you ever taken any self defense training?"  
  
"Excuse me?" A wry eye suggested he wanted to reply with a 'why'.  
  
"Well, Tenchi and I have been practicing for a while now, but it's important to test one's skill against a variety of styles. I thought since you and he worked so well in the field together you both might want to try your hands at some sword practice."  
  
"Oh no, no thank you." Seita extended, almost exaggerated humility. "If it's all the same to you I'd much rather just help him with his homework."  
  
"Are you sure?" Yosho dared to offer some your-own-medicine and received a wide and very certain smile.  
  
"Believe me, I don't want anything to do with any kind of physical violence."  
  
"I see." Yosho, in fact, had never seen him look so serious yet still so playfully arrogant. Just before he began to wonder at the guest's choice of words, their old debate returned, apparently called back by his friendly echo of Seita's approach.  
  
"Do you still want to know what I think about Mr. Jenjuri?"  
  
Paused near the bottom of the shrine steps, Yosho wondered if this offered a second chance to simplify things with some tea.  
  
"Certainly."  
  
Fingertips together in a wedge, Seita lifted the meditative gesture to his chest. He closed his eyes and exhaled.  
  
"It's the fiction." Sensual voice again, though lined with formality.  
  
"I beg your pardon." Yosho's face spread in opposing directions at the cryptic answer.  
  
"Stories, fantasies, ^they^ are causing so much of the anxiety in people like Mr. Jenjuri."  
  
"I'm not sure I follow."  
  
Seita closed his eyes and spread his arms out as if he were about to take flight, making a near curtain from his blanketing attire. Spectacles bucked in a blink of surprise as the slight frame seemed to flatten like dough while the cloth spread thin. Within seconds Seita's head was perched surrealistically above a small stage curtain like a thoughtful cross between the opposing drama masks. Yosho reminded himself forcefully that the guest's ability to make such illusions came as a second nature, and resisted the urge to look at the man behind the curtain.  
  
"Storytelling began as the best way to transmit information, and document real events." The stage head lectured smoothly while the curtain parted to reveal a few cave-dwelling people gathered about a fire. Each was focused on a man who stood on a rock, using course language and gestures to describe a fight with a large animal. The miniature stage and actors were so elaborate that Yosho leaned in closer, waiting for some string or anomaly of light to give away the doll-sized figures. He noticed Seita smiling smugly at him and tried to swallow his discomfort at being given such a convincing, if albeit impressive, hallucination. The curtains closed and opened again faster than any man could pull a rope and changed scenes like a slide show.  
  
"Eventually stories developed into a way to...^teach^ social, and religious values." Seita looked back down at the new gathering of slightly less ancient people. Yosho could only assume that he was able to construct such a detailed living diorama of a European church by the hours he spent looking through almost every book in the house.  
  
The director's stage surpassed a screen, presented with all the vivid realism of an open window. His lone audience member had little doubt that he might be able to step right into the wide rows of little pews. Unaware of the much larger but nearly petrified competitor leaning toward him, gold and ivory plumpness read from an antiquated leather-bound book. The language might have been Latin, but the echo was too distant.  
  
"And so, ^stories^ were intended for a practical purpose. Even when exaggerated, or 'rearranged' from being passed down, they were to be taken seriously, the actions of the characters either directly aspired to, or shunned."  
  
He stressed his choice of words overtly, almost to the point of questioning his audience's depth of understanding. When the curtain fell slowly and failed to reopen Yosho looked back up at the elegant narrating gargoyle to find that he was already looking back at him. A questioning, yet not misunderstanding look reflected back.  
  
"This affects Mr. Jenjuri the way it continues to affect people in almost all modern cultures, this 'fiction-affliction', or 'fiction-addiction' in some cases. You see, using storytelling as a means for idle entertainment is not just a mutation, but also a ^perversion^ of its intended purpose. The power of stories, when waved around like a common plaything, can cause subtle, but lasting damage."  
  
The curtain opened again, revealing a young boy, similar in appearance to Noboyuki when he was a child, pacing outside a comic book store. Moments after the shop-keep lets him in he sprints out the door and off the stage. Without bothering for a curtain pull, the scene instantly faded into his room just as he burst into it. Past issues are proudly displayed on one and a half of the walls.  
  
He reads the story anxiously, and after an obvious time lapse, puts it up, not with relief, but with more anticipant anxiety for the empty space next to it. Sayta narrates calmly, but there is an almost sarcastic jeer at the situation.  
  
"How ingrained the instinct is, to attach importance to story characters, and how easily exploited. The mundane failings of one's own existence simply fade away when one is consumed with the drama and glory of another's 'life'. A small wonder why such fortunes are made from fantasies.  
  
"And a sad irony that heroes and villains, once used to mold the characters of countless children, must now be discarded as 'not real', that 'imagined' people cannot be trusted. Parents have little choice but to show their children select portions of 'reality' for fear of the unrealistic or ^twisted^ ideals these new kinds of stories might project."  
  
The curtain closed slow and opened slower into a young adult's bedroom, this one containing a shrine to an unrealistically proportioned future- chic. The wall was papered with pictures. Candles reflected eerily off of a supporting display of three-dimensional merchandise. The youth knelt, holding a candle up to the icon and breathing heavily.  
  
"Ah, the line between admiration and obsession, how thin it is in worlds so inundated with fictional characters. People can be so torn by whether to view a story as a strict lesson or a pleasant diversion.  
  
Seita breathed audibly. Yosho chose not to look up.  
  
"But perhaps it is poetic justice for the very tool used in civilizing societies to eventually cause people to abandon them. The desire to teach can be so quickly overshadowed by the desire to escape, and escape they do. So much more interesting are the characters that they are exalted and even emulated like the heroes and prophets and martyrs of old.  
  
"Most of the time such devotees will contend themselves with fantasies in which they are---'respected' by their own deified concept of the characters. The distraction becomes the ideal, the ideal becomes the replacement, and always the unobtainable will ^fester^ desire like nothing else."  
  
The curtain closes again, slow and fluid as Seita's voice. Yosho could feel the stage director's gaze on him but kept his own on the curtain. The priest held his chin and grinded his brow into his glasses, knowing that the almost darkly cynical dark explanation was far from over. When the curtain opened again the same youth was dressed in an elaborate and unflattering imitation of his icon's attire, obsessively applying makeup inches away from a small mirror.  
  
"Although desire and envy often hold hands, it happens often enough that desire is simply a symptom of envy. Simply put: people will idolize those whose power they covet. Rather than emulate or at least learn from the characters, they wish to ^become^ them."  
  
The repulsive yet pitiful scene climaxes as the young man goes into various exaggerated poses. Fat rolls imitate curves and stretch marks pass for battle scars. At any moment Seita would chuckle at the man's delusion with cold understanding, Yosho was as sure of it as the fan was of his place on the next issue's cover. With slight hesitation, the priest looked up to meet the look of perverse enjoyment on the puppet master's face.  
  
His expression was entirely blank despite the almost mocking tone with which he spoke. When their eyes met Yosho saw something that was not exactly sadness, but that could be described as nothing else. The curtain fell while the "star" continued to gyrate himself about the stage. Seita's hands reappeared at the corners, and his clothing shrank back onto him slightly more proportioned than it had been. Both men held their hands behind their backs, contemplating something below the other's face.  
  
"What does all this have to do with Mr. Jenjuri you ask." Seita spoke formally, retaining only a hint of his cold eloquence, "Though I doubt his case is the same in specifics, it is likely the same in principle."  
  
"Please explain." Critical yet sincere interest covered Yosho's discomfort.  
  
"By blurring the line between education and entertainment, people can become confused with regards to who they are and who they ^should^ be. Hybrids of ways to enhance and ways to escape the mind, uncertainty of the hero and the villain---the teacher and the fool, the resulting subjectivity can create inner chaos. Mr. Jenjuri is bombarded with opposing and mixed messages, each one increasing his doubt and thus his dissatisfaction. He may not idolize any fictional characters, but since people often know only each others' personas, his half brother in law may be just as surreal."  
  
Seita looked back down the path as if he could still see the man's car driving away while his audience took a step forward and turned, following the gaze and thoughtful expression.  
  
"And so how would you help him?"  
  
"If he cannot develop standards by which to separate the values of education and entertainment, then perhaps he would be better off as another deluded imitation." Seita hid the sigh of a deep inhale as a steady breeze passed through valley.  
  
"After confining myself in that empty dimension for so long, where it seemed time would stop for me, almost a ghost spying around the universe--- I could tell him-"  
  
The wind picked up, bringing the trees and some blonde hair to life. A thin strip of bark fell like a cumbersome piece of confetti straggling in long after the parade. Yosho watched blue eyes follow it eagerly and was not surprised when the man shot out his hand to catch it. Seita continued, tracing the grooves with his fingertips.  
  
"-that living vicariously-"  
  
Paused again, he held the delicate cast off next to his ear like a conch shell. He crushed it in his hand with a luxurious smile, visibly savoring the sound and texture.  
  
"-is not."  
  
Yosho watched the guest dust his hands, exchanged a farewell bow, and watched him walk back to the house, still wondering if he should have tried further to invite him for some tea.  
  
***  
  
Ryoko reached out and limply selected a lucky sake bottle from her mob of adoring fans. She rotated it on its edge, encouraging a dance in the face of the many others who had tumbled over and rolled off the coffee table. When she felt it slipping out from beneath her fingertip she made no move to save it, letting it fall and travel to the edge with a sharp clink that rang out louder than it should have. A few drops of saki dripped out as she closed her eyes with a lethargic groan.  
  
"You shouldn't drink so much Ryoko, you're going to get a headache."  
  
Mihoshi's concern penetrated the thick ooze in Ryoko's mind with hideous clarity. A helpless loathing bubbled in her throat, ready to answer the kind advice with bile. But one surly look would have to suffice. Protect and serve another time, Mihoshi retreated back to her formless knitting but couldn't find her smile.  
  
Ryoko sat up roughly and clutched the newly doubled pain in her head, moaning louder that anticipating the effect did not lessen it. She sat back roughly, letting her hair tumble over the edge of the couch. After that last drink every perception had come to her through a bitter veil. Every object in the house inspired a cloudy loathing, and thus, by comparison, the neutral ceiling provided a small escape.  
  
A rising pain in her neck rang amidst the others like a cheap imitation and was easily ignored. The pleasant euphoria she'd found so many times in excessive quantities of sake had drowned and congealed into a sludge.  
  
*Why haven't I passed out yet? Now I feel even worse than I did before.  
  
*I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, none of the other times worked. I drank, got all flustered, couldn't coordinate, then passed out---but what was on my mind never left, it just got softer and farther away.  
  
She wanted to scream, to sob, to somehow expel what she'd poured over herself. All that came was another groan after her hand slapped over her forehead. Counting the lines on the ceiling suddenly seemed as appealing as anything but the screen door made her loose count at 33. She cranked her heavy head up, burst another bubble of pain inside it, and squinted at the next rotten person to enter her rotten world. The sight was so strange that she chuckled humorlessly, a sarcastic attempt to open one last deal with her executioner.  
  
"Suh you goin fer the ^angelick^ look now?"  
  
Seita only closed half the door. He found something very intriguing on the handle and took almost a minute to shut it all the way. Mihoshi looked over her shoulder and smiled what Nobuyuki had described to Tenchi as her "Seita Smile". In response, he ignored her completely and walked towards Ryoko. Though his hands hung loosely in his curtain sleeves, his face gave the impression that he was holding a gun to her drunken head, calmly demanding that she answer an important question.  
  
"Excuse me Ryoko?"  
  
All the imposing posing was answered with a flutter of heavy eyelids and a lifeless belch.  
  
"And where'd all your hair go?"  
  
"Huh?" Mihoshi looked back and forth between them in utter confusion and empathetic tension. "What are you talking about Ryoko? He's wearing the same thing he was wearing this morning."  
  
"Indeed I am," Seita spoke directly to the intoxicated witness, still unblinking as he made his meditative hand arch with affected precision.  
  
"I may be drunk Mihoshi, but I'm not blind!" Ryoko snapped with classic intoxicated fervor, and continued with her evaluation with a limp hand dangled out at like a rotten sausage link.  
  
"Just look, he's wearing plain white pants and a white shirt---they look cheap, like what someone would wear in a hospital or something. And his face is all scruffy now. Hm, maybe he forgot his compact." She finished with a snort.  
  
An airy hiss sucked in through his teeth, and he looked down at Mihoshi, calmly commanding her to refute Ryoko's claim. The officer's reasonable doubt recoiled slightly and shook in her eyes.  
  
"I-I don't see what you're talking about. Seita, are you doing a trick for just Ryoko?"  
  
He focused back at his accuser, but she was clearly in no position to focus on anything. His own judging finger pointed towards the coffee table and within seconds Mihoshi was staring intensely in the same direction. The shamefully impressive collection began to stand and organize, fallen comrades rapidly forming a pyramid to obscure Ryoko's face.  
  
"I'm doing a trick ^now^ Ryoko, what kind is it?" He was trying to maintain his usual soft, confident tone, but a venomous growl seemed to be climbing his throat.  
  
"The sake's making a-" Mihoshi began.  
  
"^Ryoko^...what-do-you-see?" He almost slapped the interruption with the strict redirecting of his question.  
  
"Are you gonna make the sake drink itself or something, or are you gonna make it talk to me like they say it does on the TV?" Ryoko mocked the lack of magic emanating from his finger.  
  
"But Ryoko, can't you see, all your bottles made a neat pyramid...but I guess ^I'm^ just seeing that, right Sayta? Maybe she saw them dance, or talk, or-  
  
Seita ignored her and looked up and down from Ryoko's loathsome, wilting state back to the obvious cause of it. When his smile came it somehow relief into one of the most unwholesome things possible. The bottles fell from grace to their original arrangement in soundless the blink of an eye. Mihoshi looked back over at him, slightly fearful of his next question or answer.  
  
"Nevermind Mihoshi, I don't think Ryoko's in any state now to enjoy my talents." His confidence returned in full, and he began to walk towards the stairs.  
  
"But I don't get it, you still don't look angelic to me. I mean, you don't look ^bad^ or anything. Uh, I mean-" Mihoshi tripped over her tongue with an exasperated blush.  
  
"Uggggh, why don't I leave you two alone. Maybe I'm wrong and he's actually been naked the whole time."  
  
Ryoko's remark was snide rather than sarcastic. Though the slur had subsided, the excessive surliness remained in the air even after she teleported away. Mihoshi couldn't think past her slowly overwhelming embarrassment. Seita looked down at and sighed at the now typical way she tried to turn transparent when turning red in front of him.  
  
"Has anyone seen Ryoko." Aeka asked crossly as she rounded the corner.  
  
"You just missed her Aeka." Mihoshi spoke to the remote as she eagerly turned on anything to hide in.  
  
"Well it's her turn to clean the bathroom, and she'd better be back soon."  
  
"Princess Aeka, if I am not mistaken, today was my day to clean the bathroom." Seita charmed, though he also spoke in a different direction.  
  
"Oh." Aeka changed her barely muted anger into surprise. "Is it now? I could have sworn-."  
  
"I think I'll take care of it nonetheless."  
  
***  
  
"I hope that Lord Tenchi and Miss Ryoko are alright, there seemed to be something very wrong the other night."  
  
"Yes Azaka, indeed there was."  
  
"You mean you know?"  
  
"Well, not exactly, but I believe it is safe to assume. Lord Tenchi's manner this morning implied a loss of sleep."  
  
"Shouldn't he be coming home soon?"  
  
"Any minute now." Ryoko announced in a calculating voice. She landed on top of a guardian and sat cross-legged, still supporting herself with a wobbly arm.  
  
"Good afternoon, Miss Ryoko."  
  
The talking highchair received no reply. The mire still surrounding Ryoko's head bubbled and steamed even more in the afternoon sun. She was breathing irregularly as she clutched her temples and propped her elbows onto her knees. Her thoughts still swirled around bitterly, bringing up a curmudgeon's banquet of things to say. Braving the light, she looked for a familiar form to appear over the horizon. Every other person had typically failed to bring comfort, and lately her helplessness even doubled when she thought about Tenchi. Even the machines below her were beginning to look like better company.  
  
"Hey, Azaka-" Ryoko lowered her head into a solemn voice.  
  
"I beg your pardon Miss Ryoko, but I am Kamadake. That is Azaka over there." The guardian answered politely.  
  
"Whatever," she grumbled and began again. "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Of course you may Miss Ryoko, Azaka and I will do our best to answer it."  
  
"You have to do whatever Aeka tells you to do, right?"  
  
"Yes, as guardians we are sworn to obey the crown of Jurai and the noble we are created for. We will protect and serve Aeka for the rest of our days."  
  
"May they be long and happy," added Azaka.  
  
"Here-here."  
  
Ryoko took a sip from the bottle she'd brought along, and waited a few more seconds for the long winded 'yes' to blow itself out. She continued with a softer and throatier voice, clearly ready to expel or succumb to the many drinks at any moment.  
  
"So, if---if Aeka told you to destroy me, you'd have to do it, right?"  
  
The first pause she'd ever heard the guardians take seemed so surreal that it almost sobered her for a moment. Both of the wooden cylinders had always been the essence of an alert soldier, always responsive, not cold, but clearly their personalities were the result of someone's imagination. Ryoko, almost risked a sudden movement to look over the edge into the single unblinking lens of an eye. From his still mechanically dignified position beneath her, Kamadake was sentient for long enough to show he added more angles to her question than most machine would.  
  
"I'm afraid so Miss Ryoko, we are sworn to defend the Princess against anything she might see as a threat---by any means necessary. No matter how much you may have proven an ally in the past, we would have to follow orders."  
  
"We would have to ^try^."  
  
Ryoko had to convince herself, through the chaos of her intoxication, that Azaka could not have just tried to comfort her with flattery. She considered a confident, almost threatening laugh, but even in her state she knew it would have come out hollow. Rather than try further to distract herself with the age-old staple of aggression, she hung her head lower. A few longer strands of hair shaded the guardian's eye.  
  
The pain in her throat began to rise again. It clenched up in her cheeks and looked for a fit of sobs to shake out. She called silently to Tenchi, begging him to come home, put his arms around her, and say that she was not as despicable as she felt. To her surprise her call received an answer from her own throne.  
  
"Are you feeling alright Miss Ryoko?"  
  
"Yes, is everything well with you?" Azaka added formally.  
  
She looked down at the smoothly polished surface beneath her hands and saw her own blurry reflection. Taking a deep breath against the pain in her head, she resolved not to ask if the guardians were like people. Until further notice they were at least more upfront than any other person she knew. A question that had been burning in her since Kagato's defeat came out with a whisper of the tears behind it.  
  
"Kamadake...are you afraid to die?"  
  
"'Die', Miss Ryoko? We are guardians, we are not truly life forms and hence we have no fear of death. It is one of the reasons we are often preferable to Jurain soldiers."  
  
"Though we may sound like people, we are machines created to serve as people." Azaka's own two cents came this time in a tone equal to his partner's sincerity.  
  
The first true smile since the first bottle of sake crept up her face, a timid blade of grass in a patch of dingy snow.  
  
"That's O.K. guys, you're close enough."  
  
***  
  
Tenchi walked more slowly than usual, thoughts dragging isolation back to his shared home. He moved halfheartedly to kick a stone and released a dust ghost from the space next to it.  
  
*Maybe I should take one of Seita's vacations. Everything 'real' is getting more and more ugly lately.  
  
*And the worst part is---there's no good reason for it.  
  
*Sasami's back so I don't have to worry as much about anyone trying to ^kill^ anyone else. Seita's giving me more time to focus on my schoolwork, heck he even helped me out with a writing assignment the other night. And Mihoshi isn't breaking as many things because she wants to impress him so bad. I should be happy for them, but all I can think about are my same old problems.  
  
*Ever since I was almost killed by that lunatic, Ryoko and Aeka have been even more 'attentive'. They keep getting sweeter and sweeter, but every time I think we're getting closer Aeka's father rears his ugly head, or Ryoko---or Ryoko just forgets hers. I don't understand. I told her not to take anything, and what does she do?  
  
*There must be something watching over me to get me away from Hetmu ^and^ to keep Ryoko from loosing it.  
  
He kicked at another stone with more force and sent it skipping off the path.  
  
*I wonder if she ever had it. Even though she's not trying to smoother me every minute, I know it's just a change in tactics. Aeka always tried the same thing, just a little more gracefully. I didn't tell anybody about what happened, but when Ryoko obviously hid the truth from Sasami everyone probably drew their own conclusions.  
  
*I just wish Washu would come out of her lab already; she looked like she'd been working more than a little too hard. If she ^ and^ Sasami, and maybe even Grandpa, were all here together they'd probably set things at ease. In the meantime I'm gonna have to hide out in my schoolwork for a while.  
  
*Yeah, it's stupid of me to wish for things to get better on their own, but I do it anyway.  
  
Looking up from the road again, he noticed Ryoko sitting on top of whichever guardian it was. She had a bottle of sake next to her. He swallowed its implications, but the sound of their loud-laughed conversation made him pause and approach the gate even slower.  
  
"-and so---oh! H-Hi Tenchi." She greeted with a start, noticing his nervous look at the sake she tried to hide behind her back.  
  
"Uh, hello Ryoko."  
  
Seeing that her attempt had failed before it began, she made one last desperate save.  
  
"Hey Tenchi," she cooed, holding out the bottle to him like a surprise gift, "have one with me? Nothing like a nice stiff drink after a hard day, huh?"  
  
Tenchi looked at the offer, then at her face. The smile was as forced and nervous as any he'd needed before. Memories of the rave came rushing back, turning the bottle in a dear friend's hand into an apple in a snake's mouth. Much as he generally disliked western fairy tales, the association came instantly and set his mouth in a sad frown.  
  
"I wish you'd learn better moderation, Ryoko."  
  
The cold disappointment in his voice held everyone in silence till the front door shut behind him. Tears rolled, though Ryoko barely felt them through thoughts of Tenchi's growing hatred. He hadn't meant it when she'd accidentally torn his mother's kimono, but he'd said it anyway. This was even worse; she couldn't say that she hadn't taken anything from anyone, that she hadn't known, even though it was true.  
  
The bottle moped back up at her. When she could neither bring herself to smash it nor drain it, she stared deeper into the reflection as it distorted in a green curve. The long knots of self-pity led to a recent memory of Seita's voice, replaying his almost mocking response to her second release from imposed darkness.  
  
***  
  
"That Kuroku is so ^mean^!" Mihoshi pouted as the arch nemesis of her favorite cartoon characters laughed maniacally. She clenched the remote like a club, shaking with misplaced fury.  
  
Seita gave the impression of napping. Sasami leaned forward with only slightly less dedication than Mihoshi while Aeka her tried to do her knitting between periodic glances.  
  
"^Will our hero's escape? Will Dr. Kuroku get away with his devious plan? Will our sponsors cancel our funding? Tune in next week for part eighteen of the Shinesman-Super-Suspense-Series^!"  
  
The narrator's excitement faded into credits just before he might have soiled himself. Mihoshi let out an angry whine in a fit of hair pulling and feet stomping. Her normally animated cartoon partner opened one eye over a half smile, enjoying all the things he could say without making a sound.  
  
"Mihoshi, I don't think some silly TV show is anything to take so seriously." Aeka lectured demurely.  
  
"Oh, come on Aeka. You want to know what happens too." Sasami nudged her sister.  
  
"That---that is beside the point."  
  
"Arrrrrrgh, I can't wait another week!" Mihoshi continued.  
  
"Don't get so consumed with your anticipation, otherwise the next episode might be disappointing." Seita looked over at her kindly.  
  
"Yeah I know." Mihoshi sighed, feeling secretly proud of herself for answering without a fluster. The front door creaked open quietly while she unceremoniously dismissed the TV.  
  
"I'm home." The announcement came flat.  
  
"Oh Tenchi, welcome home!" Sasami ran up to him and gave her usual friendly hug while Mihoshi waved from the couch, still dragging herself out of the entertainment trench.  
  
Seita rose and walked over to kitchen counter where Tenchi had left his school case to dig up an after-school snack. A slender affectionate hand gripped the famished student's shoulder, but Tenchi continued chewing like a bored cow.  
  
"How did the test go?"  
  
"Huh?" He blinked back into the outside world.  
  
"The test, it was today wasn't it?"  
  
Tenchi looked up with a shy smile, swallowed the rest of his snack, and went over to wash his dish. A mature voice to come home to settled in, and he brightened a little more for it.  
  
"Oh, that. Actually I think it went well, thanks again for the help."  
  
"When did you get to study earth knowledge?" Aeka asked suspiciously from behind Tenchi's new tutor. Seita's whole body twisted formally as if the princess were a long-traveled apprentice begging the council of an immortal oracle. The way he looked down at her was kind of kind and coy. She angled her head back, slightly unnerved by another of the guest's random bouts of strange flamboyance.  
  
"It was really more of me helping him organize his notes, but your highness might be surprised by how much you can learn reading over the right shoulders."  
  
"I see." Aeka blushed slightly but did not let her voice waver. The illusionist had features that reminded her too much of the many effeminate and pompous suitors she'd been bored with before. Still, she couldn't help her faint interest in how a man who'd experienced such isolations could be so well spoken. Naturally any thoughts of any man brought her back almost reflexive to the reluctant suitor. Inspired by Seita's demeanor, she took a rare opportunity to be bold.  
  
"Congratulations Lord Tenchi, I'm sure you're going to be quite the scholar."  
  
Aeka's hug took him off guard, and Tenchi almost stumbled over her. After another awkward moment passed with the princess only tightening her grip, he returned a quick embrace.  
  
"Well thanks, but I haven't gotten it back yet, I might have bombed."  
  
"Bombed? Does that mean you conquered?" Aeka blinked in confusion.  
  
"Never mind, we'll see how I did next week." Tenchi chuckled softly and Sasami giggled, then laughed aloud. A strange buzzing sound was coming from overhead.  
  
"What the-"  
  
A cartoonish version of the Misaki heir was piloting a small model of a WWII fighter plane. An aviation scarf fluttered like a dynamic tadpole as he circled the kitchen. Oversized goggles complimented an exaggerated grin. Instinctively, Tenchi and Aeka looked at Seita, smiling proudly at his newest play toy.  
  
The plane moved slower than a real model would have, and dove towards the abandoned school supplies as if held by an invisible child. Although Seita rarely made illusions so obvious, Tenchi still gasped when a small bomb dropped and ignited his homework.  
  
"Oh no!"  
  
He grabbed the nearest dishtowel in a panic and tried to smoother the dwarfed flames. When there came neither smoke nor heat, he drew back the cloth like a magician surprised at his own success. Sasami and Mihoshi giggled openly at him and the perfectly restored school supplies. The instigator just chuckled down at his unfolding hands.  
  
"That's not what I meant Seita." Tenchi defended in a forced attempt to keep face but soon had to surrender and shake out a smile.  
  
"Real or not, you were very brave Lord Tenchi." Aeka offered sweetly.  
  
Ryoko had watched the entire show after teleporting silently to her rafter. The laughter seemed distant, but even such playful illusions struck her as all too real.  
  
*Washu sure is taking her time analyzing his 'sample'. I just hope she's not trying to clone him or something---she probably got him to open one of those creepy holes and is sticking all kinds of probes into it.  
  
She shuddered at the memories of how hard it had been to stand still the few times he opened those personal doors around her. The remaining pieces of bitterness still left in her stomach made her hope for Washu to find some way to work around that invulnerability complex of his. Maybe then he wouldn't walk around looking so calm and all the time.  
  
Resigning before another headache set in, she rolled onto her stomach and faced her sketch, fighting to work up a comforted smile. The front door swung open, bounced roughly off the wall guard, and startled the tail of her house kimono. Someone called out with all the overdone jolliness of a thin man in a Santa suit.  
  
"Helloooh!"  
  
"Dad? What are you doing home so early?" Tenchi walked over to his father with a confused expression that soon inflated into pained struggle.  
  
"Oh Tenchi! The firm just landed their biggest client ever, and I got a huge raise!" Nobuyuki bear-hugged his son, lifting him off the floor.  
  
"Dad-"  
  
Nobuyuki dropped his gasping son and dashed to his late wife's shrine.  
  
"Oh Achika, sweet Achika, things are going so well. I can't thank you enough for watching over the house and our extended family." Water gleamed and sugar sparkled in the breadwinner's wide eyes.  
  
"Wow Mr. Misaki, that's great!" Sasami beamed.  
  
"Does that mean we can get satellite television now?"  
  
"Mihoshi! Don't be so rude!" Aeka snapped.  
  
"I'm taking everyone out to the nicest restaurant we can find to celebrate!"  
  
"Everyone?" An uncertain but taken as eerie voice floated down and almost made the honorable father jump. Tenchi smiled at how the back of his dad's neck also seemed to itch when she did that.  
  
"Why, y-yes, of course."  
  
"That's so ^nice^, thanks dad!" Ryoko cleared her throat and puffed up to slap him on the shoulder.  
  
"Now just a minute, Tenchi's father is not your---your ^dad^!"  
  
Fumes started to build between the two rivals, but were quickly doused by Sasami's plea.  
  
"Come on you guys, this is a special occasion, don't fight."  
  
The girls turned away from each other and relaxed slightly, allowing Tenchi to do the same.  
  
"When are we going?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
"Why don't we leave right now and have an early dinner, then maybe we can stop for some ice cream afterward."  
  
"Oh-BOY! Let's get ready Ryo-ohki."  
  
The proud father seemed to glow as Sasami dashed off to her room with Ryo- ohki scrambling behind her. Tenchi smiled at how he seemed to savor the reaction, enjoying a child's enthusiasm the way only a parent could.  
  
"I will also freshen up." Aeka exited politely.  
  
"I'll go tell grandpa." Tenchi called and dashed out the door.  
  
"Hey Tenchi, wait for me!" Ryoko sped through the wall after him.  
  
Nobuyuki sighed happily and almost turned into Seita's chest. He recoiled with a small start, and scratched his head, momentarily unsure how the robe- like garments had been so quickly replaced by classy-casual black pants and an indigo sweater.  
  
"Oh Seita, you startled me." He chuckled, but only received another question.  
  
"Have you decided ^where^ we are going?"  
  
"Hm, well I heard about a new restaurant in the city that's been getting good reviews. I thought we'd go there."  
  
"I hope they know who they're competing with."  
  
"Yeah," Nobuyuki chuckled, "Sasami's set our standards pretty high."  
  
The two of them stood silently for a moment before both turning in near unison to smile at the shimmer of tall grass in the late sunlight, through the clean windows.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgot, Wa-er uh, ^little^ Washu hasn't come out of her lab in a while, do you think she might want to join us. She could probably use a break."  
  
Sayta smiled knowingly then let it fade into a relatively plain voice without taking his eyes off the scenery outside.  
  
"Last I heard she didn't want to be disturbed. But I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we brought her back something."  
  
***  
  
"Boy you move fast Tenchi!" Ryoko complimented as she flew alongside him, trying to bury the earlier impression with her usual playfulness.  
  
"I have to, the way grandpa trains." He breathed out the exertion at the last step up to the shrine.  
  
"Ya know---if you wanted to---you could always train with me sometime." Ryoko offered, more than a bit of Zero's shyness showing through.  
  
Tenchi turned and gave her a strange look as they neared his grandfather's office.  
  
"Uhhh, I don't know if that'd be a good idea."  
  
"I'm sure the old master wouldn't mind. Besides, we still need a rematch---no special tricks this time." She smiled with an exaggerated challenge in her eye.  
  
Even after all this time, Tenchi still had trouble knowing when she was only looking terrifying as a joke. He gulped and tried to change the focus.  
  
"I-I guess we'll have to ask-"  
  
He stopped and raised an eyebrow at the formal looking sign hung over his grandfather's door, Ryoko stared with him, though the characters were unfamiliar.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean Tenchi?"  
  
"Strange, it basically means 'deep meditation in progress, please do not disturb' only in simpler, older terms."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Grandpa doesn't want to be disturbed---he hasn't done this in a while."  
  
The shrine's former prisoner listened as Tenchi spoke to himself. Though he was clearly curious, he headed back down the steps without a sign that he even considered knocking. She examined the door a little more closely before following him.  
  
***  
  
Ryoko and Aeka strode purposefully towards the burdened minivan with gazes fixed on the seat next to Tenchi, each waiting for the other to make a dash for it.  
  
"You guys-" a timid voice made both girls stop and turn around towards Sasami. She was holding her hands together, eyes pleading them in closer.  
  
"Common you three, lets get going!" Tenchi called out through the window, not taking notice of the tension building between the three girls.  
  
"Just a second, Tenchi dear!" Ryoko called sweetly to distract him with his own blush.  
  
"What is it Sasami?" Aeka regarded her sister tenderly after giving Ryoko a quick cold stare.  
  
"Well it's just---I'm just worried about little Washu." Sasami looked down at her feet pitifully as the rivals looked at each other for a hint. Before either could confront the child's worry, she spoke again with even more urgency.  
  
"I know sometimes she goes into her lab doesn't for a while, but she's never been gone this long. I-I-I was just hoping maybe you two could stay here today j-j-just in case she comes out, or needs help, so that there will be someone there if she does."  
  
"That's nice of you to think about miss Washu, but why would 'both' of us need to stay?" Aeka asked before the small but knowing smirk on Sasami's face reminded her of what happened almost every time one of them tried to go somewhere with Tenchi, and without the other.  
  
"Oh...hm, you're a bright girl Sasami." Aeka complimented her sister's foresight grudgingly. When she looked over at Ryoko she noticed that her eyes were fixed tightly on the back seat where Mihoshi was leaning her chin to talk to Seita. It was a flirtatious posture if ever she saw one, or else the officer really was completely clueless.  
  
She looked back down at her sister, still pleading, still pitiful, but with a face that was getting more beautiful every day. Memories of how her and her rival had responded to a certain revelation at the lake brought back a harsh envy that she could almost taste, and almost feel emanating next to her.  
  
Ryoko and Aeka looked at each other simultaneously. An unspoken understanding almost transmitted between them:  
  
*If we say yes to Sasami we'll be leaving her and Tenchi alone while Seita and Mihoshi are getting all soft over each other. ^You're^ not any threat, but it probably isn't safe to give a future Goddess any kind of head start.  
  
One hard glance at the minivan, one instantly softened glance at Sasami, and both girls released a simultaneous sigh of defeat. Petty emotions couldn't last long in the fragile face of a little sister. Sasami hugged them both with ecstatic thanks and bounded off to the minivan to tell Tenchi that the idea was theirs. Both decided to go along when they noticed the warm expression he gave them before driving off.  
  
***  
  
Sasami leaned back from the front seat, giggling with Mihoshi as she braided a strand of her hair and exchanged jokes that were equally bad and innocent. Tenchi relaxed silently in the back seats with Seita gazing now typical serenity out the window.  
  
"I thought the whole reason Washu was staying in her lab so long was to make sure it would be okay for you to go out into the rest of the world." Tenchi asked with moderate concern.  
  
"The only restriction she really offered was that I shouldn't drink anything but filtered water. I doubt I'll be put in any more danger at this restaurant than your home."  
  
"Sorry, I hope I didn't sound rude."  
  
"Not at all Tenchi, I feel more welcome and content as your guest than I'd thought possible."  
  
"Well," Tenchi chuckled modestly, "as I keep saying; it's the least I can do."  
  
Silence lingered between them. Tenchi seemed to hear the absence of Seita's voice more clearly than the boisterous conversation between the girls in front of him. His faint reflection in the window still hadn't moved a blink.  
  
"I think Washu's own attempt to study oblivion through a sample of its only company may be causing her absence...if you were wondering."  
  
The former guinea pig looked over at the tall profile, now silhouetted by the late afternoon sun and a small cluster of clouds; the scenery outside hadn't changed much. Memories of the disorienting energy he felt when exposed to 'oblivion' always returned to him whenever Seita looked lost in thought. Now more and more the almost sheer horror of that place began to captivate him.  
  
Without stirring any other part of his face, Seita turned, blue pearls rolled over to Tenchi's brown marbles. There wasn't a moment's doubt that the guest could hear the host's thoughts more clearly than his words.  
  
"I can't imagine a scientist of her ability not being interested. She likely wants to replicate, maybe even synthesize my abilities.  
  
A bump in the road gave them a chance to blink. Tenchi declined and was glad to see his guest accept.  
  
"Funny, so much time spent inside and I cannot yet claim to be an expert, still more to be learned from the outside, I suppose."  
  
Tenchi cleared his throat of a sudden tension and forced himself to speak his mind for once. With the way Seita chose to decorate and conduct himself it often seemed he might be too vain to contribute to a personal conversation. But the underlying frankness beneath his decadent tongue invited honesty to come as it was even after he turned back to the window.  
  
"Seita, what's it really like in there?"  
  
"You mean in the as of yet 'unclassified' dimension."  
  
The face in the window might let out a smile, or even trapped one, Tenchi couldn't tell but confessed anyway.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"In a direct sense it is as I first described it, an infinity of emptiness, a complete oblivion. In fact, I believe it may be more appropriate to simply call it 'oblivion', rather than any scientific term devised here, in what I'd call 'existence'."  
  
"But what's it ^really^ like, in-inside I mean?"  
  
Another pause. The creases in the seat were beginning to stick to Tenchi's palms as he waited for Seita to face him again.  
  
"Strange, though it is so unbelievably neutral, I can't help but speak of it in dualities. When I give it more than a moment during travel, the same sorts of expressions come to me."  
  
Seita faced forward but kept his eyes averted.  
  
"When I enter oblivion, it seems to have all the qualities of a prison and a haven...a premature tomb and an immature womb."  
  
Tenchi furrowed his brow, mulling over the cryptic answer. He could only imagine it as a type of hell, and likewise thought it strange that he couldn't find a hint of self-pity or fear in this description. The van went over a larger bump, reflexing him to check the still celebrating driver. When he looked back at his companion he looked straight into unwavering white stealing sapphire.  
  
"Would you like a closer look, Tenchi?"  
  
  
  
---------------------------  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
  
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.  
  
Standard Advertisement:  
  
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors.  
  
Standard Procedure:  
  
When entering another's home or church, be passively curious about the proper etiquette to observe.  
  
  
  
^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^  
  
-Verse Five-  
  
Master (Part 2)  
  
  
  
Aeka and Ryoko sat quietly on either side of the living room. The hour had passed with nothing save sipped tea, glances towards Washu's door, and attempts to look more visibly anxious than the other. The closet door still hadn't budged since the unpleasantness after the rave. Ryoko's eyes focused on it to melt hinges and vaporize wood, when that didn't work she slammed her teacup down with enough force to crack the saucer.  
  
"This is ridiculous!" She lectured the fractured china without apparent concern for whether Aeka was listening or not. "That runt's been in there for three goddamn days doing who knows what while we sit out here waiting for her to show us some ^grand^ discovery!" The bitter sarcasm in her voice ran for the rage border.  
  
"Well there really isn't much you can do about it, is there Ryoko?" Aeka asked in a condescending calm.  
  
"The hell I can't!" Ryoko sat up and walked to the closet, all but forming her energy sword for emphasis. Aeka hurried after, more out of curiosity than concern for her well-being.  
  
"Are you sure that's a good-"  
  
"Hey Washu!" The door held hollow thumps to the violence, but her snarl speckled it with spittle for good measure. "We know you're in there! You've got Sasami worried sick, now come out already!"  
  
She stood back with arms crossed, tapping her foot for an entire agonizing minute. A small orb of energy lit up her fist and she positioned herself to make a crater in the door.  
  
Aeka sighed helplessly and put her shield up, but the explosion never came. Washu took one step outside her door and it closed behind her. Ryoko dissipated her attack and re-crossed her arms not to seem affected by the deep, morbidly exhausted scowl on her mother's face.  
  
"Um, excuse us miss Washu but-"  
  
Washu froze the princess's tact with a glance. Aeka was tensing herself for whatever reprimand she would receive for forgetting the 'little' on top of disturbing her, but the excavated hermit merely hung her head and changed somewhere between a blink and a flash of light. Emeralds leveled between the two girls and managed to turn green into an unsettled warning. Ryoko stubbornly ground her teeth at the delay.  
  
"That's nice, but you can put your grown-up boobs away, Tenchi and everyone else went off to dinner in the city. ^We^ had to stay behind to make sure you didn't blow yourself up."  
  
"But, we were concerned of course." Aeka interrupted, trying to keep her rival from tempting enough wrath for the both of them. "Are you-"  
  
"What did you say?" Washu's face shriveled to match her frightened whisper to Ryoko, apparently not even seeing the princess.  
  
"Everyone else is out for dinner in the city, cept for Tenchi's Grandpa, he's locked himself in his shrine to meditate or something---so what's your excuse?" Ryoko hardened further with a suspicious tone.  
  
"^Where's Seita^!" Washu gasped loudly, gritting her teeth as she pulled Ryoko forward by her collar.  
  
"Hey! What's the big idea?! I told you; everyone else went out and left us here to look out for you." Ryoko freed herself with an agitated step back.  
  
Washu moved back as well, the closet door bumped from behind. She bent slightly and brought still clenching hands to the sides of her head, almost hyperventilating to cool the gears within.  
  
"L-little Washu, are you alright? Please tell us why you've been in your lab for so long." Aeka scraped up her last bits of softness.  
  
"I'm sure you both understand how fun prolonged solitude can be-" Washu responded in a voice lower than even her adult form would have used. Ryoko and Aeka stared at her in shock, instantly remembering long millennia in caves and empty space. Neither of them could fathom how a supposed ally could remind them of their trials so coldly.  
  
"-so you can understand why I wouldn't ask for it without good reason."  
  
The scientist blinked long and hard at their silence, returning to her child form as she turned back to the monsters in her closet.  
  
"Why---why did you ask about Seita?!" Ryoko managed to accused in a near hiss.  
  
Washu paused but did not face them.  
  
"All this time, you've been studying his blood or something, haven't you?"  
  
Aeka looked between them, back and forth shaking up an anxious and ignored whisper.  
  
"^What^?"  
  
"Well," Ryoko demanded, taking a step forward, "what do you ^know^?!"  
  
"I don't know ANYTHING!" Washu whirled around and screeched so loudly her daughter could almost feel the pain in her throat. Heavy breaths took their time descending through the silence till the little genius was ready to speak like an adult.  
  
"It's most likely that everything he's told us is been true, but the blood sample you mentioned, there's something ^wrong^ with it?"  
  
"What do you mean, 'wrong'?" Aeka asked with now unrestrained fear.  
  
"To put it simply: it won't hold still."  
  
Her two interrogators were beginning to regret their curiosity, but Washu continued.  
  
"You saw when Nobuyuki tried to give him a playful poke, the way he just automatically went ethereal. It's more than that though, the smallest particles of his body seem to have been altered. Even pieces of him respond to threats the same way, the blood just phases apart, almost beyond the atomic level. When the results come back, it's as if the vial were empty." Washu's voice was retreating farther into her own very isolated lab.  
  
"So what the hell are we supposed to do?" Ryoko whispered forcefully, as if Seita could be listening nearby.  
  
"Try to relax," Washu offered weakly, opening the closet door, "he may be slippery, but so far he isn't sharp. As far as fighting ability goes I think he's being honest; he probably wouldn't even last a round with Nobuyuki."  
  
They tried hard to take comfort in the image, closing their eyes and scraping for a chuckle. Ryoko huffed back to the couch while Aeka raised her head to settle for a deep breath and maybe one last question. The re- locked door didn't seem ready to answer.  
  
---  
  
The treated family returned home with happy faces and a number of carryout bags, the contents almost emptied by two quiet yet ravenous women before everyone could hang up their coats. Nobuyuki shuffled to his bedroom, muffling something about eating too much and exhaustion, while all the girls including Ryo-ohki decided to visit the onsen. Tenchi grinned at his gorging partner and rubbed his belly. Not noticing any departing stares in their direction, he laughed heartily as Seita covered his smile to catch a belch. The taller man shuffled away but was stopped on his way to the couches.  
  
"Hey. Seita."  
  
"Yes, Tenchi?"  
  
"I've um, got another essay due for a different class, do you think you could give me a second opinion on some things?"  
  
"Certainly, though some things my still be unfamiliar to me."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
They walked up the stairs at a matching step, Tenchi's smile fading slightly till it turned him to his new friend.  
  
"Seita, back in the car, when you asked if I, you know, 'wanted to take a closer look'---you were just kidding, right?" The question came with all the enforced seriousness of trying to seem casual.  
  
Silence lingered till they reached the bedroom door. Seita opened it for Tenchi and looked him straight in the eye with all the sincerity of desired trust.  
  
"Of course, Tenchi."  
  
***  
  
Watching Mihoshi and Sasami have a water fight while they watched calmly, Ryoko and Aeka couldn't even enjoy the irony.  
  
"So what do you think she's really doing in there?"  
  
"How should I know, she's your mother. Besides, don't you two have some sort of-"  
  
"Don't remind me."  
  
Aeka began to sneak a look over for a chance at more hidden information, but a loud squeal jerked her attention back over to her sister.  
  
"Mihoshi! That's COLD!"  
  
"I've never seen her look so afraid before."  
  
The blunt honesty in Ryoko's tone brought Aeka back from the giggling battle.  
  
"Afraid? She just looked angry to me, it must be awfully frustrating to study something she doesn't understand."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right."  
  
They continued watching in silence as exhaustion took over the other bathers.  
  
"Hm, I bet Mihoshi could probably get a better sample for her."  
  
Aeka grimaced at the crude humor and glanced over.  
  
Ryoko wasn't laughing either.  
  
***  
  
Muffled voices spread from upstairs through the silence in the Misaki house. Washu's little feet carried her towards the noise with a steady patter. She kept her face focused and arms crossed with a mixture of determination and reserve. Tenchi needed to take her seriously and though she didn't want him to make any "mad scientist" associations from her dirty lab coat, it would definitely make things seem urgent.  
  
*I can't take this anymore. I know Seita's not telling us everything and I'm sick of driving myself mad to get a simple analysis of him. Tenchi seems to be happy to have him around, but maybe if I simply suggest that he keep his eyes open he might notice something that I've missed. He's famous for being oblivious to things so he might not notice anything unusual unless I tell him to look for it.  
  
*Thank goodness Seita's not after his love too...I hope.  
  
The door to Tenchi's room squeaked open. Washu halted and self-consciously brushed herself off a little more to face him.  
  
"Thanks Seita," happy relief called out from inside, "I probably would have been up with this thing all night without you."  
  
Seita stepped out into the hall still facing into Tenchi's room. The neutral blue of his sweater didn't seem accidentally harmless at all.  
  
"Your welcome Tenchi...though Washu would probably be a better tutor," he explained humbly. Washu tensed up. She hadn't made a sound and he hadn't taken his eyes out of Tenchi's room, but somehow she felt he was speaking to her.  
  
"Yeah well, she's helped me with my homework before---but sometimes I wonder if the help of a ^genius^ isn't more trouble than it's worth." Tenchi replied in the hesitant voice he always used when he was afraid of sounding too frank.  
  
Washu frowned but told herself to tackle that issue some other time. When Seita turned towards her she tried to look past him, through him, anywhere but into him. He merely looked down at a potted plant, his face remained lifeless as he began to walk towards her, still speaking.  
  
"Don't take anything for granted, Tenchi."  
  
Ready to demand what ^that^ was supposed to mean, she got distracted by the disinterested sigh of someone being reminded to take out the garbage:  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
Washu felt her face growing more resentful with every ghost-like step Seita took towards her and suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to stand fast in his way.  
  
*If he thinks he's above the physical plane then he can just walk through me, I'm going to get a closer look at him one way or another...maybe I can catch him off guard.  
  
He kept walking at the same pace with the same face maintaining an air of indifferent grace. Washu watched every inch of him for something to give or commit. She took a quick breath for him to call her bluff, then blinked when his torso nearly touched her face. Eyelids cleaned, then wiped rapidly, then soaked themselves together. Washu shook her head like a rabbit's heart for a moment and distorted her face in confusion then utter disbelief.  
  
Locks of red hair shook like a feather duster as Washu looked wildly around her new familiar surroundings. The hallway replaced wood with a homey white lacquer and doors with art prints and haunting happy photos. A large kitchen opened up in the distance, patiently awaiting her nervous steps.  
  
The sinks, cupboards, and counters all complemented each other in an upper middle-classy motif of creamy porcelain and richly stained wood. A few more steps forward and the hall open up into a living room on her right. The back of a soft coral couch, clearly an heirloom, instantly reminded her how functional it had been after a long day of lectures. Beyond the couch a small black cube stuck out of the wall to support the holo-entertainment system her husband had begged to install.  
  
Doused in liquid nitrogen after reflexively enjoying the nostalgic ethers. Her eyes fought to consume her face till she finally gave up convincing herself that she wasn't where she knew she was. A trembling hand inched towards a pristine wall mirror where her reflection should have been but retreated back into the folds of dirty lab clothes at the sound of a tiny beep in the kitchen. Washu smiled absently with another bit of distracted nostalgia of how long she'd worked to get the food bell just right, then inwardly slapped herself again.  
  
Footsteps echoed behind her left as a woman strode into the kitchen with a blonde little gurgle cherub. The woman punched open a small door and retrieved a steaming bowl with a free hand. She tiptoed gingerly towards the counter, put the bowl down with a wince, and gently secured the child into a high chair. He curled and imploded his tiny lips over each tenderly cooled spoonful, savoring a little more onto his chin after every happy swallow. His mother was having a hard time blowing tenderly through her own smile.  
  
Washu moistened her lips and cleared her throat loudly but the scene still continued uninterrupted. It was impossible to decide if she was happy or disappointed or terrified to be invisible as the adult version of herself fed their son. The last look of wonderment to watch a day in a life she'd lost so long ago; the proper way to view this was with a glare of rage.  
  
*Snap out of it!  
  
"S-Seita. Seita!" She mouthed then bellowed then instinctively worried towards the baby that had always hated loud noises. Again reassured of the illusion, she searched more violently, grinding teeth and breathing smoke.  
  
"Talk you arrogant-" Her lip crumpled beneath her teeth and her inability to find the right word. "If you get a kick out of messing with people's heads then you've ^definitely^ bit off more than you can chew this time! Just what the hell is this supposed to-" She cut herself off with a start at the sound of plump little hands slapping against the counter.  
  
Fear gulped, gorged itself all the way down her throat till it felt big enough to burst her stomach. She looked from the smiling face of her former self down to the bowl of soup below her lost son. An agonizing memory sucked the color out of her face and spurred her madly forward. She stretched a hand towards them.  
  
"^Look out^!"  
  
Baby's fingers came down hard on the rim of the bowl and catapulted its steaming contents all over himself and the floor at Washu's feet. The same gasp came from the same scientists, waking from nightmares, waking in scalding water. A wail erupted, shattering ears and everything in between like a torturous siren. The adult version snatched her son up from his chair and rushed him towards the sink a millisecond before her present self could. With empty hands the little girl helplessly watched herself spray hot water onto her child's sparse clothing. As the wailing intensified the mother added to the cacophony with a screech of her own before frantically cooling the water temperature.  
  
Washu remained motionless save for a rapid chocking motion in her throat. The knot had regurgitated back from her stomach and was festering into a giant tumor. Mother lifted the now naked child onto her shoulder and sobbed hysterically along with her bundle, baby pink in some places, blister pink in others.  
  
The little genius begged her frozen hands to cover her eyes or her ears as the mother she once was begged every living being in the universe for forgiveness. Finally collapsing onto her knees, she hugged herself and rocked into sobs. The illusion continued in an echo above her. Even when the child's wailing began subsiding, his mothers continued to double the moisture already on the floor.  
  
"I read an interesting essay in an old science journal once. It was on the long-term effects of parental guilt ...I think you'd have found it very interesting." Seita suggested with professional curiosity.  
  
Cyanide emeralds sprang open and injected murder into the living room. She jolted upright and began walking with jerky steps towards the head of blonde hair cascading over the back of the couch.  
  
"And it seems that you might even have had something to contribute to its theories," he continued with a rising hint of cold mockery in his voice, "you locked up this memory so tight it was almost perfectly preserved. Truth be told; you did most of the work for me."  
  
Her hands twitched then lunged for Seita's neck. The feel of stretched flesh and the sound of gagging surged destructive ecstasy into Washu's face. Thin fingers wrapped around her little grip in a desperate pry, a gasp gurgled beneath the rabid froth dripping between her teeth. She saw the blue on his fingernails whiten while her old home began to fizz like a bad television reception. This painted sissy deserved a cruel laugh for trying to probe the fury of the greatest scientific genius in the universe.  
  
His body gradually tensed and stiffened, still for a minute before a droplet of saliva oozed onto Washu's hand. She panted into Seita's hair and squeezed again just to be sure.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Throwing back the now blinding curtain of her own hair, she saw that they were still in her old home.  
  
"You didn't really ^enjoy^ that, did you?"  
  
Washu spun around and nearly spat acid at the concerned voice in the kitchen. The sick arrogance leaned forward over the counter and glanced over at the earlier Washu still holding her child. The counter beneath the puddle squeaked beneath a thin finger-traced line. Seita put his finger in his mouth and looked over to further enjoy the little red test animal.  
  
"Come now Dr. Hakube, you know this isn't 'real', not anymore-anyway. Besides, the only one who knew about it, apart from you and I that is, probably forgave the person who caused his little burn patches-" Seita lazily wiggled a few fingers at the baby, "whoever they were."  
  
Her breaths were a broken rabbit's as she managed to shuffle another menacing step toward the kitchen. The next step cut off beneath Seita's reversed eyes and slightly parted mouth as he shivered-savored his own chill. He finished the moment and leaned off the counter.  
  
If you need some more reassurance though, just ask yourself if you'd have ^ever^ done this."  
  
All the sudden flamboyance of a game show host gestured towards the old mirror as if it were a new car. Washu watched as the sobbing mother lowered her head and held her baby out at arms length. Without the whistle or the stripped shirt, the referee tossed the ball into the air for either team to claim.  
  
---  
  
A loud slam rose up from the hallway outside Tenchi's room, startled his books onto the floor, and scrambled his feet to investigate. He found a very distraught little genius, her stomach to the floor, her arms clutching an invisible package for dear life.  
  
"Oh my gosh Washu! Are you alright?" He bent excitedly to help and kept a concerned hand on her shoulder as she clutched her head in both hands as it shook slowly from side to side. She'd been asked if she was all right twice more before she widened her eyes at him.  
  
"Tenchi!" She yelled a small breath.  
  
"Miss...little Washu are you okay?"  
  
"Tenchi, where.where did Seita go?!"  
  
"Seita? We just spoke, I think he went downstairs." The echo of her maniacal voice continued to confuse him. "Are you-"  
  
"I'm...fine, Tenchi." Washu couldn't even convince herself with such a heavy gulp of air and anxious search up and down the hallway.  
  
"Are you sure? Did you need something?"  
  
She began to walk away with a lost look on her face.  
  
"Washu?"  
  
"I-"  
  
*Tell him! Tell him everything! This is going to get worse before it gets better. You have to...but what if that's what he wants? If he was afraid of me telling Tenchi he wouldn't have just ended it like that.  
  
"Are you feeling okay?"  
  
The moment of kind concern gave her just enough time to decide.  
  
"I was just going to show him a new kind of software program. I was playing with it while I was walking and I tripped." Washu answered lifelessly to the air as she continued walking back down the hall.  
  
"Oh," Tenchi lingered in his doorway between a sigh and another question till Washu disappeared around the corner.  
  
---  
  
The holographic laptop appeared in front of her with decidedly more color and energy than she held in her face. Before she could finish getting through all the access codes the screen went black. Washu typed roughly but got nothing. She sighed for another upgrade and began moving for the reboot button when plain text wrote itself in at a low WPM.  
  
^Well Dr. Hakube, it seems we have an understanding now...an agreement now.^  
  
The rabid state was coming back again as she imagined a holographic virus popping up on the screen at any minute. Her hands shook violently over the keys, wanting to reach into the screen more with each letter.  
  
^I think it will be safe to say that-^  
  
^you are a 'good mother'^  
  
^Tenchi is a 'good host'^  
  
  
  
^and I am a 'good guest'^  
  
If she didn't destroy the laptop she might end up biting her tongue off.  
  
^By the way^  
  
^I don't know how much you enjoy language studies, but I discovered something that made me think of you.^  
  
^Of us.^  
  
^The word 'conscience' has an interesting construction in one of this planet's more popular languages.^  
  
:  
  
^Con-sci-ence^  
  
The separated version of the word appeared in English and Japanese, and Washu, understanding both languages, instantly recognized what Seita was getting at. He reiterated just the same.  
  
^Conscience^  
  
^Con^  
  
^Science^  
  
^con - science^  
  
^CON- science^  
  
^-I just thought you might enjoy pondering the potential of this little word...that is... if you haven't already.^  
  
Washu gulped and took a deep breath as her normal screen returned, smiling to feel suddenly very calm. It was the sensation she always waited for whenever she was doing something important. It spread through her body with all the grace and dignity of engineered steel. She knew certainty again like the back of a hand she'd built herself; every part of her mind stood in agreement. A motivational line repeated itself in pistons, in orbit, infinite.  
  
When the portal back to her lab came up in front of her laptop she dashed into it so quickly she almost slipped on the stairs. She scrambled out the other end through two large security doors that parted for her more quickly than their girth should have allowed. A sharp squeak pierced the relatively small chamber as she scuttled forward a step from stopping so suddenly. Although her hair had catapulted around her, it wasn't pushed back. Disheveled locks stuck to her face as she breathed heavily into the room.  
  
The perfect circle chamber shimmered with walls of black liquid held back by tight clear sheets. Small yellow lights stretched, separated and regrouped in vertical parades all around her. Each line moved at a separate speed and tempo forming a pattern somewhere between distracting and hypnotic. The centerpiece, the only piece, didn't catch Washu's shadow or the glare from the lights.  
  
Two cones rose out of the floor and ceiling at each other, shining enough to make obsidian look like waxed glass. They shared a luminous yellow vapor that held itself in a cylinder between them. A single beaker of red liquid hovered completely still in the exact center of the field, rotating so slowly and perfectly that it hardly seemed to move.  
  
"Computer, initiate analyzation process code 3x7y5z." Washu spoke like a robot discovering cold obsession.  
  
All the tiny lights within the walls stopped, and were sucked back into the black fluid. The vapor holding the beaker slowly began turning blue from top to bottom in a self-replicating mass of cube clouds. When the color change had completed the cylinder began to condense and darken slightly into a crystal that filled the room in blue light.  
  
Washu swallowed and rubbed some blood back into her hands.  
  
"Proceed."  
  
An immense baritone hum pulled a single ring of black light down the length of the two cones without casting a glare or a shadow. When the ring reached the bottom it retraced its path back to the ceiling. Washu never let it out of her sight.  
  
*I haven't come across anything that needed this kind of a scan since I was working with the gems.  
  
*I guess I should have been more alert when he told me he'd have to take the sample from himself to get around his 'defensive reflex'. I put that blood through every other test there is and each time-  
  
Washu crushed her eyes together and ground her teeth.  
  
*---^empty^. If the entire atomic structure of his body has altered so much, this test will tell me.  
  
*Why am I not excited then? No, there can't be any doubt. I'm going to find out what he's really made of...  
  
A holographic report sprung up and put her uncertainty on hold. She brought back her own computer and typed a few buttons to shrink the larger document into a tiny square that promptly inserted itself into the back of her keypad. She exited the scanning station as the blue around the beaker faded back to yellow and the walls came alive again.  
  
The plants in her favorite workstation caressed past her nose, but she didn't even admire the lush pad of grass beneath her feet. She sat down on her levitating cushion and stared at the blank screen without so much as breathing for the ten seconds it took her to build up the will to look at the report. For half an hour she read, alternately showing thin clouds of fear till she could pull them into a more mechanical calmness. When the report was finished, she filed it safely away and began asking her computer to calculate how much power would be required to run the necessary tests. Her focus on the question and subsequent answer left nothing else, her mind typed out information with no more living energy than the computer had. She finally looked around to regard her surroundings, trying not to think about how hard it wouldn't be for Seita to come in for decorating tips.  
  
*These aesthetic additives are expendable. The other specimens and samples will have to be recycled.  
  
Washu looked at the door and frowned.  
  
*I will have to improve a new locking system, but that will have to wait.  
  
Turning back to her desk, she picked up a piece of stationary and a fountain pen.  
  
***  
  
Upstairs in his room, Tenchi said goodnights to the very clean and very tired girls and bent back over his homework with small exhale of frustration. The silence tempted his warrior ears with fridge hums and settling wood till he thought back to how Washu had been able to make her way into the hall unheard. A sudden realization tweaked his focused expression. He sat up slightly and looked at the door, tapping his pencil in contemplation. With a decisive tilt of his head he returned to his project. After no more than a minute the realization refused to be put off, causing him to surrender his work and walk briskly down to the closet door. His hand paused inches from the handle as he noticed something out of place.  
  
A piece of paper hung by a tack a little below normal eyelevel, in bold and elegant handwriting it stated simply:  
  
Do Not Enter.  
  
Not 'Do not disturb'. Not 'Out to Lunch'. Not even 'Geniuses Only'. Tenchi hesitated and took the note in hand. The ink was still shiny. He crumpled his lips to one side and prepared another sigh of surrender, but caught it between a determined brow. Without knocking, he twisted the handle and entered as slowly as a spy, but when he crossed the threshold he called out with concern rather than suspicion.  
  
"Hello, are you in here little-"  
  
The greeting was cut short as Tenchi stared in confusion at the lab's new décor. Metal. The floor, the ceilings, the walls, everything was a blank surface save for a simple dome light above Washu's sparse computer station, and a safer than a safe door to her right. Hetmu's ship, even on the way out, had seemed warmer. He waited for Washu to turn around but the mass of red hair didn't budge from the bouncing taps of her apparently solid keypad.  
  
Tenchi took a few steps in, the hard echo forced him to remember Hetmu again, then very cold and empty places. A shiver gripped his arms in reflex.  
  
"Did I forget to write that notice in a language you could understand?" Washu's callous tone froze Tenchi in his tracks, biting his lip.  
  
A dull whirring made him duck just in time to see a small spider-ball robot fly overhead with a solid teal orb in each leg. It stopped above and slightly to the left of her where a furnace opened up in a parting twist of metal sheets, the orbs hurled in one by one. The robot followed and Tenchi saw a small yellow flash in the abyss-deep red tank. No heat, no sound, but it felt like energy the same way his sword did.  
  
"Uh, sorry if I disturbed you Little Washu," he almost whimpered as the furnace shut, "are you redecorating or something."  
  
"I'm ^extremely^ busy Tenchi, please make this a brief interruption." She brutally disemboweled his attempt at friendly conversation.  
  
Smiling was a little easier when he told himself his news would make her happy enough to overlook the intrusion.  
  
"I---just wanted to tell you that when we went out to dinner Taro's mother and father happened to be eating at the same restaurant."  
  
Washu's typing cut off with a harsh clack of keys. Tenchi thought that he could see her trembling but continued the same.  
  
"We talked for a while and offered to sit for them again, so little Taro will be staying here on Friday. I thought you might want to-"  
  
Before he could continue she whirled around, strangling the edges of her cushion.  
  
"NOOO!"  
  
Tenchi put his hands up defensively and almost fell backwards, when no explosion came he dared to look at her again.  
  
"But I thought-"  
  
Washu pounced so quickly that Tenchi let out a shocked yelp, too stunned to move as the undersized genius held him up from the floor by his collar. The terrified rage in her eyes threatened to do more than paralyze him at any moment.  
  
"I said ^no^ Tenchi!" Her voice so guttural that she almost spat on him. "Do not let a child come into this house, I-"  
  
Washu stopped and looked about her lab with wild paranoia, her breathing alternately beating down on Tenchi with more force than should have existed in any twelve-year-old. When she stared back at him her terror was not lessened, merely focused. The whisper she spoke with made him gulp again.  
  
"I'm doing very important and very dangerous work at the moment, I'm sorry Tenchi, but I can't risk exposing undeveloped life forms to-"  
  
"But Little Washu, I already-"  
  
"Well cancel the plans ^damn you^, I don't care what you tell them. Say everyone has some horrible virus, mucus and puss everywhere. Anything, just do not let Taro come here!"  
  
She dropped him with a soft thud and began to walk away with slow, overly cautious steps, her breathing still slightly labored. Tenchi sat up and stared at her dumbly, believing her insane for a fraction of a moment. He refocused and called out with as much control and concern as he could.  
  
"Little Washu what's-"  
  
"Please, Tenchi." The ripping voice exhausted itself as she flopped back down on her cushion and gently grasped her sinus. "I'm sorry if I frightened you, everything will be alright, but please...just do as I say."  
  
After a few more generic and failed attempts to turn and speak, Tenchi finally made his way out of the lab. Without the typing, everything was less than silent till another identical robot flew in from nowhere to repeat the procedure. Washu bowed her head and massaged her sinus some more. Eventually she placed her hands back on the keys with an exhale of forced tranquility. A finger paused above the first key, anxious hesitation lightly trembling in her wrists. She checked both sides of the room again, not even moving her head. Typing continued.  
  
---  
  
Dissecting the initial codes was a simple procedure and a good way to warm up, still ahead of schedule despite the interruption she afforded herself a microscopic smile of approval. Seita's face pressed in through the other side of the now cellophane screen. The fonts and icons bent and stretched across his features, contouring to him till every detail of his expression made the screen into a face painting. His eyes narrowed, his smile stretched up sharp and toothy.  
  
Washu knew someone trying to look terrifying when she saw them, but could resist indulging him only by trying to remain entirely motionless while she stared at the space between the keys and the screen. She tried to take comfort that his appearance had not been totally unexpected, but knew she'd have to make it clear to him that he'd had all the reactions from her he was due.  
  
*He can make as many grand entrances as he wants. I won't indulge him.  
  
*Luckily he certainly seems like one to get bored easy, I'll hate myself for sending him off to have fun with...with someone else, but I'm the only one who can figure him out, and I can't do that unless he gives up on me. That must be his game. Has to be.  
  
*Obviously he likes to speak in riddles, but he made himself fairly clear back there: if I take his sick little games as a joke, and don't tell Tenchi, he'll stay a "good guest". Let him think you believe him, Washu.  
  
"I heard shouting Professor, is something wrong." His voice buzzed with a cheap electronic filter, an affected attempt to complete his transformation into a sinister computer virus.  
  
She did not acknowledge him. She kept her eyes averted. She could not stop her right hand from trembling.  
  
"Oh come now, you're not going to stay upset with me for that little trip down memory lane, are you? What kind of a guest would I be if I didn't try to inspire a fellow scientist?"  
  
Seita's face receded slightly back into the screen at her deathly silence. He raised his eyebrows asking: 'well?'  
  
"Were you unnerved by my little ^con-science^ remark? I was just offering something to ponder, not mull over."  
  
His charm fell on deaf ears.  
  
"Ah the silent treatment, standard procedure against bullies-" His face stretched forward again in an arch, nose passing less than an inch from her cheek as he continued in an accusing rasp "-and people trying to ^hide^ something."  
  
Washu tried to imitate her robot double, and wished desperately that she hadn't already disassembled it to free up more energy.  
  
"Very well." Seita sighed, grimacing sideways before pulling back into the screen. She was taken slightly off guard when he stood up behind the stationary computer, half phased through its plain desk. He put his hands in the pockets of his velvet trousers. His thin unbuttoned shirt billowed about his pale torso as he walked towards the exit. The cliché vanity in the all black of it almost brought up a visibly disgusted response, but Washu just stared at the screen, waiting to hear any sign of his departure.  
  
This time she hesitated for triple the amount of time to be sure that she could finally work in peace. Words began appearing on the screen again the moment her fingers spread over the keys. She frowned frustration, but ragging terror reentered her eyes the moment she read.  
  
^I was also curious-^  
  
^Who is Taro?^  
  
Strangely enough she wanted to move this time, to find a blunt object, smash the computer and wait again for another opportunity to strangle the guest. But her rage paralyzed itself, the only motion came when both hands began to tremble more fiercely.  
  
^Pleeease professor Washu! I just want to know who this person is. Don't make me have to leave with some tired exiting line:^  
  
^"If you wont tell me, I know someone who will."^  
  
^"Maybe actions will speak louder than words."^  
  
^It just wouldn't do.^  
  
Washu twitched her finger over the shutdown button, closed her eyes to reach again for the switch to the part of her mind he had commandeered. Although loath to read again, she could not help herself.  
  
^Oh, nevermind then.^  
  
Her relieved sigh almost brought on a fit of tears, but she bit her tongue and impaled the shutdown key. She turned and rose from her seat with weak knees and walked over to the enforced door at her right. When it, after a minute's worth of coding, slid open for her she nearly walked into Seita's inverted face. She screamed and stepped back instinctively, balling her fists at her side and refusing to acknowledge his antigravity illusion.  
  
He walked along the ceiling convincingly, his loose shirt and long hair drooping downward. Far more chilling were the movements of his mouth entirely grotesque as it had not inverted with the rest of him. Glossy lips sharpened their smile into the wrong corners of his cheeks, his chin and head took turns moving, inevitably throwing off even Washu's developed equilibrium. When his nostrils whistled in her scent like a larger but still tiny pair of hell pits she bit her tongue for real, barely catching her nausea. She held her breath even after realizing he had no scent of his own, and though she waited to feel him exhale on her all she could feel were the needles stampeding up her face.  
  
Another step back and another bit to her tongue. For a fraction of a second the illusion seemed to get blurry, it was all she could do. Unfortunately, his inverted eyes and slick voice became so wholly psychotic that no inversions or extra illusions could have made him any more threatening. If he wanted her to believe he'd passed gaily through the essence of hell, he'd succeeded. She could not deny it as each word brought him a step closer and her a step back.  
  
"I will be despised."  
  
" I will be condemned."  
  
" I will be^ murdered^!"  
  
" But I will NOT---be ignored."  
  
His voice tore through her senses, and though she was not taking flight or fight as her instincts were instructing, she admitted to herself that she needed a new plan. Without taking her eyes off him, she answered with more certainty than was necessary.  
  
"Tenchi's little brat of a cousin, a noisy little stink bomb. Maybe you like your nerves being racked by constant screaming and defecating, but I don't. It may sound strange but, s-s-soon as they're not yours they lose all their charm." Washu tore the tortured moment of nostalgia from her face and replaced it with all the cynicism she could muster. "So, you got anything in that wardrobe of yours that you don't mind getting puke on?"  
  
Seita lowered his eyebrow curiously, and his entire body was sucked into his neck in a cartoonish rush. With a quick jerk his head inverted again and shot out the rest of him without so much as a ruffle for all the surreal rearrangement. His mouth turned back into place with a sickly vacuum gel sound. Standing relatively without glamour, he looked down and crossed his arms with another sideways, disappointed grimace.  
  
"I see, well good then," he affirmed, pocketing his hands and rocking on his heels in good humor, "for a while I was afraid he might be another scientist."  
  
Washu looked up at him and huffed in exasperation, hiding her malice, and her elation at the acceptance in his condescending smile. He lifted a leg and stepped backward, instantly swallowed up in the blink of oblivion. The floor caught Washu indifferently, as she wavered above hyperventilation.  
  
The same motivational line that had driven her after the initial hallucination began to repeat itself again with enough authority to drag her back up to her feet and down into the heart of her lab.  
  
^there's no time^  
  
***  
  
A faithful servant tried to relax his unstable yet giddy expression in the illumination of so many rotating plasma cells. His hands moved idly, automatically over his small control box. The deadly bobble turned and twisted, throwing varying refractions of orange light across the sterile floor. When a sudden feeling of disorientation swept through him like an arctic wind he jerked his face up.  
  
Kagato always wore the finest gloves, they matched his hair and kept his smooth hands from being unnecessarily soiled. Hetmu had seen them only a few times, but closely enough to know them one when it was reaching out to him from a small white portal.  
  
He took it, trying not to shiver as the hole widened enough for half of Kagato's shoulder and all of his smiling face. His master, warm and gentle the way Hetmu knew he would be when he returned for him. If he saw the tears in his most faithful servant's eyes now they would be forgiven.  
  
Hetmu looked down at his hand, feeling something odd. Kagato's little nail was poking into his palm, it'd been grown and shaped into a familiar decorative point. Retracing memory kept his face tight for a few moments. Kagato's smile grew more sinister than Kagato could dream as his servant looked up in horrified realization.  
  
The failed experiment still held the hand as his dead master withdrew back into the portal. Like a ghost's glove it wiggled free easily and floated up to an orb. This change in proximity made the orange cell brighten. It remained unaffected by the light as the empty portal closed.  
  
A faithful servant watched and listened to his master's hand as it snapped at some unknown revelation.  
  
  
  
***  
  
The time to watch its moments.  
  
Well received---but one third done.  
  
The time to reward each suspicion and patience.  
  
  
  
The time for points to pull their gun.  
  
-ZJS  
  
  
  
Author's notes:  
  
Verses 6 through 10 will be included in 'Sanctuary & Asylum {.66}'  
  
I'd like to apologize for my mediocre proofreading thus far.  
  
I'd like to thank Ministry Agent for his consistent and valued support. Shower him with reviews please.  
  
I'd like to reassure everyone that I've good reasons for splitting up the story's verses. 


End file.
